First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 66,917 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,767,781 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 66,917 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.21% of United Parcel Service worth $222,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $8,213,699,000 after purchasing an additional 370,705 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,933,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,979,695,000 after acquiring an additional 414,710 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,384,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,895,828 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,373,964,000 after purchasing an additional 268,278 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company's stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $96.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,928,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,826,903. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $110.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.36. The company has a market capitalization of $82.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $90.55 and a one year high of $153.42.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This is a positive change 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 6.81%. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on UPS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.70.

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.