Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Increases Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 575,286 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 39,010 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $56,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UPS. Shrier Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,099,000. LFG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth about $1,207,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 297,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,495,000 after buying an additional 98,309 shares in the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 937.9% in the fourth quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 245,564 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $24,358,000 after buying an additional 221,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,541,742 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $450,495,000 after buying an additional 65,652 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citizens Jmp started coverage on United Parcel Service in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Stephens raised United Parcel Service to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.50.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.4%

UPS opened at $114.60 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $108.28 and a 200 day moving average of $106.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.00 and a 12 month high of $122.41. The firm has a market cap of $97.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.05.

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

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 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.