DnB Asset Management AS Purchases 12,119 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 267,467 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 12,119 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $33,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,213,699,000 after purchasing an additional 370,705 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,035,313,000 after purchasing an additional 613,409 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after buying an additional 373,202 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 10,040,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,272,600,000 after buying an additional 1,277,328 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began 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. Baird R W lowered United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $128.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.57.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE UPS opened at $109.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $118.52 and a 200-day moving average of $126.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.40 and a 1-year high of $154.29. The firm has a market cap of $93.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 5.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

United Parcel Service 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.