Jones Financial Companies Lllp Purchases 94,237 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 88.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 201,030 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 94,237 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $25,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $282,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after buying an additional 1,320,921 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,919,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $367,300,000 after purchasing an additional 685,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised 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 valued at $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of UPS stock opened at $118.97 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $122.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.10. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $109.40 and a one year high of $158.95. The company has a market capitalization of $101.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.51%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

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.