Eagle Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 130,482 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $17,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after buying an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the first quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 26.4% in the third quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after buying an additional 3,835 shares in the last quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 23.9% during the second quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 26,319 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,602,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 71.8% during the second quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. now owns 14,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,988,000 after purchasing an additional 6,073 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $144.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.52.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $134.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $132.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.29. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.12 and a 52 week high of $163.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.84%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.49%.

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.