IFM Investors Pty Ltd Cuts Position in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lessened its holdings in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 15.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 146,557 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 26,206 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $34,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,105,382 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,678,575,000 after purchasing an additional 142,732 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 5.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,949,345 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,641,715,000 after purchasing an additional 354,463 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,105,784 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,206,191,000 after purchasing an additional 86,292 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,968,658 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,133,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,643 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 10.8% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,626,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,092,893,000 after purchasing an additional 452,788 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Argus downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $257.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.21.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $215.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $128.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $225.75 and its 200 day moving average is $226.53. Union Pacific Corporation has a twelve month low of $204.66 and a twelve month high of $256.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 41.73%. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.96%.

About Union Pacific

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.