Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Increases Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,424 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,280,190,000 after purchasing an additional 14,410,073 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in United Parcel Service by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,677,202 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,508,385,000 after purchasing an additional 2,331,875 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in United Parcel Service by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,889,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,456,055,000 after purchasing an additional 628,944 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in United Parcel Service by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,026,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $315,832,000 after purchasing an additional 541,163 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in United Parcel Service by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,433,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $379,245,000 after purchasing an additional 532,934 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $147.53 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.96. The company has a market capitalization of $125.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.68 and a 1 year high of $192.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.42%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 94.49%.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, Director Eva C. Boratto acquired 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $142.30 per share, for a total transaction of $199,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,220. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $154.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.23.

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.