Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Boosts Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,719 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,095 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after buying an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,304,000 after acquiring an additional 28,108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on United Parcel Service in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.00.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $115.17 on Thursday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $109.40 and a one year high of $158.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.55.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.70%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.04%.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

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.