Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,364 Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,364 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $761,000. Union Pacific makes up 0.8% of Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNP. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,370,752 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,812,689,000 after purchasing an additional 518,985 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,856,266 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,438,417,000 after purchasing an additional 113,946 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,504,181 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,351,937,000 after buying an additional 364,029 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 5.7% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,396,974 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,081,348,000 after buying an additional 237,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 35.3% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,118,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,012,857,000 after buying an additional 1,073,625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE UNP opened at $252.51 on Tuesday. Union Pacific Co. has a 12 month low of $199.33 and a 12 month high of $258.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The company has a market capitalization of $154.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.15%.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the president now owns 64,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,014,787.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Daiwa America downgraded Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.79.

Union Pacific 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.