TCW Group Inc. Purchases 29,411 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

TCW Group Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 165,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,411 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $20,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UPS. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in United Parcel Service by 833.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $282,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851,900 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 worth $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,919,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $367,300,000 after buying an additional 685,259 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.2 %

UPS stock opened at $116.35 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.36. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $99.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.