United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Stock Holdings Boosted by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 71.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 129,683 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,182 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $16,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after acquiring an additional 613,409 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 373,202 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,448,960,000 after acquiring an additional 380,229 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UPS. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Argus upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.2 %

UPS stock opened at $113.20 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.40 and a twelve month high of $158.95. The company has a market cap of $96.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.80%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.