California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,833,819 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 33,750 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.21% of United Parcel Service worth $231,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,075,393,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $282,783,000 after buying an additional 1,851,900 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $397,329,000 after buying an additional 1,378,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:UPS opened at $109.66 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $93.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $118.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.40. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.87 and a 52 week high of $154.29.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 posted $2.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.98%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on UPS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial started coverage on United Parcel Service in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.57.

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.