HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 17,778 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 590,549 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,778 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.10% of Union Pacific worth $145,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management raised its position in Union Pacific by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 8,202 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,856,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its position in Union Pacific by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 8,384 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust raised its position in Union Pacific by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 11,894 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,357 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $262.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Union Pacific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.80.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE:UNP opened at $240.71 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $240.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $238.45. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $218.55 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The stock has a market cap of $145.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

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

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 49.22%.

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.