Eagle Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 130,482 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $17,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after buying an additional 14,539,321 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,490,712 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $888,254,000 after buying an additional 20,426 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,144,372 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $567,157,000 after buying an additional 393,434 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,113,870 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $611,445,000 after buying an additional 101,349 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Argus upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.52.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 2.6 %

UPS opened at $134.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $115.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.99. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.12 and a 52 week high of $163.82. The business’s 50 day moving average is $132.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.49%.

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.