Park Avenue Securities LLC Raises Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 15.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,878 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 2,691 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth about $1,075,393,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth about $393,680,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,384,567,000 after buying an additional 1,484,452 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $397,329,000 after buying an additional 1,378,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC cut United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $113.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Hsbc Global Res cut United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.26.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $102.43 on Wednesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.55 and a 12 month high of $148.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.15 and a 200-day moving average of $113.42.

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

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.63%.

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.