Meritage Group LP Has $276.75 Million Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Meritage Group LP cut its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,122,794 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 44,522 shares during the period. Union Pacific accounts for approximately 6.5% of Meritage Group LP's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Meritage Group LP owned about 0.19% of Union Pacific worth $276,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew 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 worth $6,109,829,000 after purchasing an additional 217,780 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 106,996 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,970,669 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,350,924,000 after buying an additional 124,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,020,107 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,237,356,000 after purchasing an additional 31,899 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UNP. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $262.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Nine 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $259.80.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.9 %

Union Pacific stock traded up $2.00 during trading on Monday, reaching $234.23. 1,305,540 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,328,386. The company's 50-day moving average is $239.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $218.55 and a 52-week high of $258.66. The firm has a market cap of $142.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.