Groupama Asset Managment Raises Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 91.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,540 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 19,867 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in Union Pacific were worth $10,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $6,109,829,000 after buying an additional 217,780 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,880,701,000 after purchasing an additional 106,996 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Union Pacific by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,549,271,000 after purchasing an additional 143,896 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,970,669 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,350,924,000 after purchasing an additional 124,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,020,107 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,237,356,000 after buying an additional 31,899 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UNP shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Union Pacific from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Union Pacific from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $254.00 to $247.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $259.80.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE UNP traded up $1.65 on Monday, hitting $233.88. 1,076,456 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,327,610. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business's fifty day moving average is $239.22 and its 200 day moving average is $238.29. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $218.55 and a 52 week high of $258.66. The company has a market capitalization of $141.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.78 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.51 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Union Pacific's payout ratio is 49.22%.

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.