Investors Research Corp Grows Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Investors Research Corp increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,175 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 336 shares during the quarter. Investors Research Corp’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,075,393,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $393,680,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in United Parcel Service by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,384,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484,452 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in United Parcel Service by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $397,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378,136 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,933,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337,058 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UPS shares. Galvan Research cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $147.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wolfe Research cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $113.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays cut their price objective 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, Baird R W lowered United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.26.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $97.50 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.55 and a 12-month high of $148.15. The company has a market capitalization of $82.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $98.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.23.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.11. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. The firm had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.63%.

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.