Waddell & Associates LLC Purchases New Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Waddell & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,994 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $902,446,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 507.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,244,234 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $321,796,000 after acquiring an additional 2,710,470 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $181,951,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,496,420 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,794,160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 94.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,300,081 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $231,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119,372 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on UPS shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.50.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.1%

United Parcel Service stock opened at $107.85 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $82.00 and a one year high of $122.41.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.99 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 106.15%.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.