CENTRAL TRUST Co Buys 201 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,735 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,218,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,568,798,000 after acquiring an additional 178,394 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,854,180,000 after acquiring an additional 8,475,698 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,889,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,456,055,000 after acquiring an additional 628,944 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,280,190,000 after acquiring an additional 14,410,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,607,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,510,517,000 after acquiring an additional 980,317 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:UPS traded down $1.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $143.77. 3,590,204 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,029,198. The stock has a market cap of $123.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.68 and a 12-month high of $192.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.90.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. United Parcel Service’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.54%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Argus downgraded United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.23.

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.