Truist Financial Corp Boosts Position in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Key Points

• Truist Financial increased its stake in Union Pacific by 3.1%, buying 30,079 shares to hold 1,016,071 shares worth about $235.04 million (0.17% of the company).
• UNP and Norfolk Southern refiled a merger application projecting roughly $3.5 billion in annual shipper savings and ~39% market share, but the deal faces strong opposition from Canadian National, unions and anti‑merger groups that raise regulatory and approval risk.
• Union Pacific beat Q1 EPS and reaffirmed its outlook, earning analyst support (consensus "Moderate Buy," average target ~$279.55), while insiders have sold about $8.46 million of stock in the past three months, including a ~$549k sale by the CFO.

Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,016,071 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 30,079 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.17% of Union Pacific worth $235,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 20,606 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $4,741,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,528,426 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $351,660,000 after acquiring an additional 105,664 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Union Pacific

Here are the key news stories impacting Union Pacific this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Union Pacific reported a Q1 earnings beat, stronger margins and reaffirmed its outlook — a fundamental positive that underpins analyst upgrades and higher price targets. UPS or UNP: Which Transportation Stock Holds an Edge Post Q1 Earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: UNP and Norfolk Southern refiled an amended merger application with the Surface Transportation Board that includes full traffic data from all Class I rails and projects about $3.5 billion in annual shipper savings — a scenario investors see as long-term revenue/cost synergy if approved. Creating America's First Transcontinental Railroad...
• Neutral Sentiment: The refiled application frames the merged carrier as holding roughly a 39% market share and outlines conditions under which Union Pacific could walk away — information that clarifies deal economics but leaves regulatory risk open. Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern Refile Rail-Merger Application
• Negative Sentiment: Rival Canadian National (CNI) formally criticized the amended application as inadequate to address competitive harms and is actively engaging the STB — increasing the probability of prolonged review, mandated remedies, or outright rejection. CN Says Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Merger Fails To Address Competitive Harms
• Negative Sentiment: Rivals, unions and a newly formed anti-merger coalition are mobilizing to block the deal, signaling political and stakeholder resistance that could delay approval or force costly concessions. Rails rivals, unions unite to block the Norfolk Southern-Union Pacific merger
• Negative Sentiment: Union Pacific CFO disclosed an insider sale of about $549,400 in UNP stock — a near-term negative signal that some investors interpret as reduced insider conviction (though the size is modest relative to market cap). Insider Selling: Union Pacific NYSE: UNP CFO Sells $549,400.00 in Stock

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNP has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $285.00 target price (up from $278.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Monday, January 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 target price (up from $260.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial set a $310.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $279.55.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE:UNP opened at $266.40 on Monday. Union Pacific Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $210.84 and a fifty-two week high of $274.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $252.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.51.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.07. Union Pacific had a net margin of 29.20% and a return on equity of 39.58%. The business had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.70 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 2,000 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.70, for a total value of $549,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,642 shares in the company, valued at $31,492,157.40. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 1,999 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.93, for a total transaction of $469,625.07. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 31,386 shares of company stock worth $8,461,716 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Union Pacific Profile

Union Pacific Corporation NYSE: UNP is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific's core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two‑thirds of the United States.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.