United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Acquired by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 6.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,407 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,218,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,568,798,000 after purchasing an additional 178,394 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,854,180,000 after acquiring an additional 8,475,698 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,280,190,000 after acquiring an additional 14,410,073 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,607,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,510,517,000 after acquiring an additional 980,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $1,128,322,000. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $150.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.95.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS stock opened at $136.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $117.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.39. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.90 and a fifty-two week high of $192.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 94.49%.

About United Parcel Service

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.