PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,182,499 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 29,156 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.14% of United Parcel Service worth $149,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $282,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $397,329,000 after buying an additional 1,378,136 shares in 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 valued at $2,933,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,919,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $367,300,000 after buying an additional 685,259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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. UBS Group cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.00.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $121.59 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $121.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.77. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. The firm has a market cap of $103.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.40%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.