TCW Group Inc. Purchases 141,358 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Key Points

• TCW Group Inc. increased its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. by 85.4%, acquiring an additional 141,358 shares to hold a total of 306,954 shares, valued at approximately $33.76 million.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" on UPS shares, with target prices ranging widely, from $114 to $125.
• United Parcel Service reported earnings of $1.49 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a slight 0.9% decrease in revenue year-over-year.

TCW Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 85.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 306,954 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 141,358 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.'s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $33,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UPS. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,056.6% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,336,175 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $476,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,961,255 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,384,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484,452 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at $145,846,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,463,930 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $815,102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 316.7% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,122,886 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $141,581,000 after purchasing an additional 853,388 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Canada lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Daiwa America lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.38.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.7%

UPS stock traded down $0.63 on Thursday, reaching $86.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,011,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,190,753. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $73.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.69. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.76 and a 12-month high of $145.01.

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

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.58%. United Parcel Service's payout ratio is 97.62%.

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.