LSV Asset Management Makes New Investment in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UPS. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 507.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,244,234 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $321,796,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710,470 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $181,951,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,496,420 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,794,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218,432 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 94.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,300,081 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $231,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119,372 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 17.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,724,265 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $561,678,000 after purchasing an additional 993,461 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UPS. HSBC raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on United Parcel Service from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on United Parcel Service from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on United Parcel Service from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.50.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 2.4%

United Parcel Service stock opened at $104.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $88.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $100.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.00 and a 52 week high of $122.41.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.99 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 5.94%.United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 106.15%.

United Parcel Service Profile

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.