Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys 103,422 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,879,372 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 103,422 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $189,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 124.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,011,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $991,132,000 after buying an additional 4,988,044 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 1,056.6% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,336,175 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $476,936,000 after buying an additional 3,961,255 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the first quarter valued at approximately $201,358,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 7.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,045,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,754,751,000 after buying an additional 1,780,807 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 443.6% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,549,962 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $156,453,000 after buying an additional 1,264,842 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $114.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Bank of America dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Vertical Research reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.31.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE UPS opened at $87.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.17. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.00 and a 12 month high of $140.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.90 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 39.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.62%.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, Director Christiana Smith Shi acquired 500 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.17 per share, for a total transaction of $44,085.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,085. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Johnson acquired 5,000 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $86.50 per share, with a total value of $432,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 10,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $878,840. This trade represents a 96.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 17,182 shares of company stock valued at $1,477,382. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.