Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 414,710 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 414,710 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.84% of United Parcel Service worth $1,979,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after purchasing an additional 33,989 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth about $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,304,000 after purchasing an additional 28,108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.26.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.3 %

United Parcel Service stock opened at $110.00 on Tuesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.30 and a twelve month high of $154.29. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $118.12 and a 200-day moving average of $126.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

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

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend yield of 5.96%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.