Smith Salley Wealth Management Acquires 544 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,045 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $16,885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNP. Chesapeake Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 8,202 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 3.4% during the third quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,357 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% during the third quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 2,276 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its stake in Union Pacific by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 213 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Link Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on UNP shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $262.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.35.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of UNP opened at $233.99 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $233.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $218.55 and a 12-month high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 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 company had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.51 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is 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.