Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Acquires 23,136 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 165,042 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,136 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $20,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 232.3% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced 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 report on Tuesday, April 1st. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.18.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 2.5 %

UPS stock opened at $97.62 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.57 and a twelve month high of $153.42. The company has a market cap of $83.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $115.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.60.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. Analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.72%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

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.