ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd Acquires Shares of 34,600 United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 34,600 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,717,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.4% during the second quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New raised its position in United Parcel Service by 1.0% in the third quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Gleason Group Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.2% in the second quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,496 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 15,837 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,167,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Horan Capital Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Horan Capital Advisors LLC. now owns 23,029 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,152,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in 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 reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $168.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.52.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $131.20. The company had a trading volume of 542,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,156,797. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $132.17 and a 200-day moving average of $134.88. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.12 and a 52 week high of $163.82. The firm has a market cap of $112.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.99.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.49%.

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.