United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Purchased by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 12.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,591 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 5,027 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $6,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,280,190,000 after purchasing an additional 14,410,073 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,854,180,000 after acquiring an additional 8,475,698 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,128,322,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 208.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,717,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $270,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,607,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,510,517,000 after acquiring an additional 980,317 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UPS shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $154.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.55.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE:UPS traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $136.85. The stock had a trading volume of 6,609,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,011,769. The stock has a market cap of $117.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $132.90 and a 12-month high of $192.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.61.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.49%.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service, Inc, a package delivery company, provides transportation and delivery, distribution, contract logistics, ocean freight, airfreight, customs brokerage, and insurance services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of express letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States.