Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC Buys 2,089 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,024 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,089 shares during the quarter. Union Pacific comprises approximately 1.6% of Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $17,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNP. Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.6% during the second quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 76,245 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $17,251,000 after buying an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its stake in Union Pacific by 16.1% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 616,689 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $139,532,000 after purchasing an additional 85,734 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 49.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 179,962 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $40,653,000 after purchasing an additional 59,418 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its stake in Union Pacific by 23.4% in the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 350,945 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $74,089,000 after purchasing an additional 66,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Union Pacific by 1.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,880,701,000 after purchasing an additional 106,996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.35.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP stock opened at $245.17 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.16. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $218.55 and a one year high of $258.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.51, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is presently 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.