United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Position Increased by Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,054 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $8,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $8,213,699,000 after acquiring an additional 370,705 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,933,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,979,695,000 after purchasing an additional 414,710 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,384,567,000 after buying an additional 1,484,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,895,828 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,373,964,000 after buying an additional 268,278 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UPS. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $126.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $149.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of United Parcel Service from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $120.26.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $99.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $90.55 and a one year high of $148.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $97.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.22.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.11. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 6.44%. The business had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. United Parcel Service's quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio is 95.63%.

About United Parcel Service

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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