Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $8.87 Million Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,380 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $8,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 69.5% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 239 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UPS traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $146.68. 2,073,568 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,192,927. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.68 and a 1-year high of $192.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $149.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.56.

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. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.23.

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.