Brandes Investment Partners LP Takes $846,000 Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Brandes Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 6,705 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $846,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of UPS. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 131,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $17,872,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 105.4% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,190 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,571,000 after purchasing an additional 13,437 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 136,914 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $18,667,000 after purchasing an additional 8,377 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,112 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,606,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seelaus Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $531,000. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS opened at $116.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $120.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.38. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.40 and a 1 year high of $158.95. The stock has a market cap of $99.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Company 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.