United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Bought by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,767,781 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 66,917 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.21% of United Parcel Service worth $222,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 2.8% during the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,060 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 17,236 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,880 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the third quarter worth about $1,021,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 25.9% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 26,457 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,607,000 after buying an additional 5,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 79.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,675 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,410,000 after buying an additional 7,836 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $128.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.70.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS stock opened at $96.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $82.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.66. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.55 and a fifty-two week high of $153.42.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued 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 net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

About United Parcel Service

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.