Franklin Resources Inc. Has $1.38 Billion Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,484,452 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.29% of United Parcel Service worth $1,384,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $8,213,699,000 after acquiring an additional 370,705 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,035,313,000 after purchasing an additional 613,409 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,080,170,000 after buying an additional 373,202 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 10,040,863 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,272,600,000 after buying an additional 1,277,328 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UPS shares. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised United Parcel Service from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $147.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $128.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $135.22.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock traded down $8.46 on Thursday, reaching $101.74. 5,430,672 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,332,413. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $117.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.04. The stock has a market cap of $86.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.51 and a twelve month high of $154.29.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is an increase from United Parcel Service's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.45%. United Parcel Service's payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

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.