Scharf Investments LLC Sells 233,443 Shares of Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Scharf Investments LLC reduced its stake in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 329,812 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 233,443 shares during the period. Union Pacific makes up 2.2% of Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $75,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNP. LGT Group Foundation raised its stake in Union Pacific by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 5,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,275,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Union Pacific during the 1st quarter worth $988,822,000. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 13,264 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,133,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,666 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $866,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,545 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $250.00 to $251.00 in a research note on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Union Pacific from $238.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Union Pacific from $244.00 to $238.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays downgraded Union Pacific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Union Pacific from $257.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.38.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of UNP stock opened at $220.86 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market cap of $130.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.87. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $256.84.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 41.73%. The business had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.96%.

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.