Schroder Investment Management Group Grows Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 190,286 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,286 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group's holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $23,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Pacific Sage Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in United Parcel Service by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Gleason Group Inc. lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,660 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 4.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Consulting Group boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.0% during the third quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 3,053 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on UPS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of United Parcel Service from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $119.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $147.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $135.22.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS traded down $10.09 on Thursday, reaching $100.11. The company had a trading volume of 10,046,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,692,166. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.02 and a 1 year high of $154.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $117.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.04.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 prior year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.55%. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.04%.

About United Parcel Service

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.