United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS Shares Purchased by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,546,991 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 43,624 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $153,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. &PARTNERS boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 102,490 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,180,000 after buying an additional 18,019 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 1,271.3% in the 4th quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 301,414 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,897,000 after buying an additional 279,434 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Wealth LLC. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Wealth LLC. now owns 10,555 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth about $415,000. Finally, Opal Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth about $5,904,000. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $110.15 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $93.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $82.00 and a one year high of $122.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.33.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.99 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 5.94%.The company’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.