Heritage Investors Management Corp Raises Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Heritage Investors Management Corp raised its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 82,448 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $10,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in United Parcel Service by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,035,313,000 after acquiring an additional 613,409 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,989,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,080,170,000 after purchasing an additional 373,202 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,448,960,000 after purchasing an additional 380,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,639,272 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $632,518,000 after purchasing an additional 292,777 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird downgraded United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of UPS opened at $116.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.40 and a 1-year high of $158.95. The stock has a market cap of $99.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.19.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.61%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 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.