Eastern Bank Sells 8,370 Shares of Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Eastern Bank decreased its stake in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 24.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,301 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 8,370 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $5,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Union Pacific by 103.5% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Union Pacific by 1,400.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 120 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Union Pacific during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Union Pacific during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 50.5% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 167 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on UNP. Barclays downgraded shares of Union Pacific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Argus downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $251.00 in a research report on Monday, September 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $261.08.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

UNP opened at $225.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average of $224.45 and a 200 day moving average of $224.47. Union Pacific Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $204.66 and a fifty-two week high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.09 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 41.73%. Union Pacific’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is 47.96%.

Union Pacific Company 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.