United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Stake Increased by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,681 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 804 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,230,000 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $115.17 on Thursday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $98.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. Equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.00.

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.