Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Has $15.59 Million Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 123,628 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 7,080 shares during the quarter. United Parcel Service comprises approximately 2.3% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $15,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UPS. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at about $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $282,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851,900 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 77.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,378,136 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,337,058 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 10,040,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,272,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277,328 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $117.42 on Thursday. 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 has a market cap of $100.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.18. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95.

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, beating 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 earned $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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.59%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.09.

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.