Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,154,091 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 240,253 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,703,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in United Parcel Service by 507.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,244,234 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $321,796,000 after acquiring an additional 2,710,470 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth $181,951,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,496,420 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,794,160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218,432 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 94.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,300,081 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $231,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 17.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,724,265 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $561,678,000 after purchasing an additional 993,461 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on UPS shares. Susquehanna raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings cut United Parcel Service from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.50.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $106.65 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $100.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.00 and a 12-month high of $122.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.99 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 106.15%.

United Parcel Service Profile

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.