ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd Takes $4.72 Million Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 34,600 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,717,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 284.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,569,831 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $351,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901,914 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after buying an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter worth approximately $160,787,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in United Parcel Service by 5,136.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,079,964 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $147,242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Baird R W raised shares of United Parcel Service to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.52.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of UPS traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $131.20. 542,597 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,156,797. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.99. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.12 and a 52 week high of $163.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.88.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.97%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.49%.

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.