Swiss National Bank Increases Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,165,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $295,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Gleason Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,496 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 15,837 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,167,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horan Capital Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Horan Capital Advisors LLC. now owns 23,029 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,152,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $134.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.12 and a 12-month high of $163.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $132.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.67.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on UPS. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Argus upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $144.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.52.

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.