Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA Acquires 2,000 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 187,262 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Union Pacific comprises 2.6% of Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $42,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth $1,832,127,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 7.6% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,370,752 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,812,689,000 after acquiring an additional 518,985 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 113,946 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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 worth $1,351,937,000 after acquiring an additional 364,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake 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 worth $1,081,348,000 after acquiring an additional 237,083 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UNP shares. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $281.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Loop Capital cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $276.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.79.

Union Pacific Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:UNP opened at $256.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $156.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $238.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.10. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $199.33 and a 52-week high of $258.66.

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

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. 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 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total value of $875,887.68. Following the transaction, the president now owns 64,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,014,787.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.