Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Purchases 18,100 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 358,175 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 18,100 shares during the period. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $35,527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of UPS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth $902,446,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 507.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,244,234 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $321,796,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710,470 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at $181,951,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,496,420 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,794,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218,432 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 94.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,300,081 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $231,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119,372 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of UPS stock opened at $107.85 on Wednesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.00 and a 52-week high of $122.41. The stock has a market cap of $91.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $102.65 and a 200-day moving average of $103.84.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.05. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 106.15%.

About United Parcel Service

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.