Donaldson Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 23.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 272,867 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,108 shares during the quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $34,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $282,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851,900 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $397,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,136 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,337,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 14.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Baird R W cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.00.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.8 %

UPS stock opened at $120.67 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.72. The stock has a market cap of $103.07 billion, a PE ratio of 17.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

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.