Swiss National Bank Reduces Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,069,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 95,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $260,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $282,783,000 after buying an additional 1,851,900 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 10,040,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,272,600,000 after buying an additional 1,277,328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS stock opened at $115.17 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.55. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week 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 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 predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.70%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UPS shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James decreased 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued 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 an average target price of $138.00.

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.