EP Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $79.78 Million in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 293,323 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $79,784,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,329,262 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $13,724,045,000 after purchasing an additional 659,378 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Union Pacific by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,330,080 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,090,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082,285 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Union Pacific by 92.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 20,136,349 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,658,142,000 after purchasing an additional 9,655,306 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,360,668 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,552,550,000 after buying an additional 296,814 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,463,071 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,509,030,000 after buying an additional 2,084,808 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 2,991 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.96, for a total value of $789,504.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,353,447.52. This represents a 6.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on UNP. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $294.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $301.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $311.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.89.

Union Pacific Price Performance

UNP opened at $307.97 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $286.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $267.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1 year low of $210.84 and a 1 year high of $315.99. The stock has a market cap of $182.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.96.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 38.46% and a net margin of 28.85%.The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.70%.

About Union Pacific

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two?thirds of the United States.