Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Raises Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 209,886 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 5,792 shares during the quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $26,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,213,699,000 after purchasing an additional 370,705 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,979,695,000 after acquiring an additional 414,710 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,484,452 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 10,040,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,272,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277,328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS opened at $97.62 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.57 and a twelve month high of $153.42. The firm has a market cap of $83.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.60.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 97.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UPS shares. Baird R W downgraded United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.18.

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.