United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Holdings Boosted by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,719 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,095 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 613,409 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,337,058 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $2,080,170,000 after acquiring an additional 373,202 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,448,960,000 after acquiring an additional 380,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 10,040,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,272,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277,328 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE UPS opened at $115.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $98.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.55. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.40 and a twelve month high of $158.95. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.70%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.00.

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.