Prudential Financial Inc. Raises Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 107.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,361,621 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 705,897 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.16% of United Parcel Service worth $171,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,213,699,000 after purchasing an additional 370,705 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised 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 purchasing an additional 613,409 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $2,933,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337,058 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 2.5% in 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 during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on UPS shares. Truist Financial initiated coverage on United Parcel Service in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Baird R W downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of 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. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $115.25 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $98.44 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.40 and a 12 month high of $157.99.

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

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.69%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

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.