Gryphon Financial Partners LLC Buys 443 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 19.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,719 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allegheny Financial Group LTD boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 10,885 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,674,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Union Pacific during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,088,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,273,959 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $558,542,000 after purchasing an additional 222,318 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 19.0% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 126,369 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $31,078,000 after purchasing an additional 20,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 75,365 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $18,511,000 after purchasing an additional 4,089 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. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $276.00 to $238.00 in a report on Monday, June 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $281.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total value of $875,887.68. Following the sale, the president now owns 64,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,014,787.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Union Pacific stock opened at $252.58 on Wednesday. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $199.33 and a 52-week high of $258.66. The company has a market cap of $153.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.10, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $241.62 and its 200 day moving average is $239.18.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.15%.

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.