BCS Wealth Management Invests $631,000 in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

BCS Wealth Management acquired a new position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,767 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $631,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 272.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,678,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $379,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,227,318 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 19,878.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 896,040 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $220,856,000 after purchasing an additional 891,555 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Union Pacific by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,795,993,000 after purchasing an additional 625,492 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in Union Pacific by 2,025.4% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 546,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $134,636,000 after purchasing an additional 520,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 170.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 736,246 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $181,470,000 after acquiring an additional 464,477 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI downgraded Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $254.00 to $247.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.80.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP opened at $226.60 on Tuesday. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $218.55 and a 1 year high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $234.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The company had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.51 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.22%.

Union Pacific Company 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.