Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC Buys 1,095 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 14.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,752 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,832,127,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings 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 worth $1,682,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285,144 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth $293,162,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Union Pacific by 65.5% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,348,496 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $478,224,000 after purchasing an additional 929,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 331.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,143,298 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $280,817,000 after acquiring an additional 878,490 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on UNP. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $248.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $276.00 to $238.00 in a report on Monday, June 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.92.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE:UNP traded up $2.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $226.27. The stock had a trading volume of 3,492,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,315,245. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $199.33 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $233.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.40.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.62%.

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.