Exchange Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Exchange Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,362 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 123 shares during the quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,832,127,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,261,449 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,478,649,000 after purchasing an additional 19,145 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,851,767 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,682,931,000 after buying an additional 1,285,144 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,867,842 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,441,260,000 after buying an additional 125,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,504,181 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,351,937,000 after buying an additional 364,029 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $248.00 to $267.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.92.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE UNP traded down $0.58 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $224.28. 729,443 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,297,755. The company has a market capitalization of $136.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $233.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $240.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $199.33 and a twelve month high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.97 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.62%.

Union Pacific Profile

Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, operates in the railroad business in the United States. The company offers transportation services for grain and grain products, fertilizers, food and refrigerated products, and coal and renewables to grain processors, animal feeders, ethanol producers, renewable biofuel producers, and other agricultural users; and construction products, industrial chemicals, plastics, forest products, specialized products, metals and ores, petroleum, liquid petroleum gases, soda ash, and sand, as well as finished automobiles, automotive parts, and merchandise in intermodal containers.