National Pension Service Boosts Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in United Parcel Service (UPS) by 11.5%, owning 1,735,307 shares worth approximately $190.87 million after acquiring 178,439 additional shares in Q1.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs, Vanguard, and Charles Schwab, have also significantly increased their positions in UPS, demonstrating a strong interest in the company.
• UPS's recent earnings report showed a miss on earnings per share at $1.55 compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56, despite growing revenues of $21.20 billion for the quarter.

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 11.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,735,307 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 178,439 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.20% of United Parcel Service worth $190,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,136,226 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $7,274,323,000 after purchasing an additional 999,832 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 7.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,045,472 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,754,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780,807 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 124.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,011,107 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $991,132,000 after purchasing an additional 4,988,044 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,391,605 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $932,081,000 after purchasing an additional 648,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,463,930 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $815,102,000 after buying an additional 1,064,293 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $127.00 to $114.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $110.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Bernstein Bank lifted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $133.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Carol B. Tome bought 11,682 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $85.67 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,796.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,117,591.06. This represents a 89.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Johnson bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $86.50 per share, for a total transaction of $432,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,160 shares of the company's stock, valued at $878,840. The trade was a 96.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $88.17 on Thursday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $84.28 and a fifty-two week high of $145.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $97.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.68.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.01). United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.61% and a net margin of 6.34%. The business had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.79 EPS. United Parcel Service's revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.4%. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio is currently 97.62%.

United Parcel Service 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.

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