Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. Buys 462 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. increased its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 30.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,976 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,218,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,568,798,000 after purchasing an additional 178,394 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 87.6% in the 4th 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 14,410,073 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,607,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,510,517,000 after purchasing an additional 980,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,128,322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 3.0 %

NYSE:UPS traded up $4.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $142.35. The company had a trading volume of 4,801,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,668,227. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.04. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.90 and a 52 week high of $192.98. The company has a market capitalization of $121.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $139.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.03.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released 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. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. United Parcel Service’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 94.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on UPS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $154.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.55.

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.