Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Buys 175 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,564 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. MONECO Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 63.6% in the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,286,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,360 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,545,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its position in Union Pacific by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 7,838 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,925,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Union Pacific during the fourth quarter valued at about $771,000. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 130.0% in the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 129,566 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $31,824,000 after purchasing an additional 73,225 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $282.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.78.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP traded down $3.82 on Tuesday, hitting $237.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,737,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,318,918. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $244.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $235.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.93. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $190.71 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The company has a market capitalization of $144.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is 49.62%.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.