Freedom Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 77.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,568 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,874 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 370,705 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $2,933,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337,058 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,979,695,000 after buying an additional 414,710 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 worth $1,384,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,895,828 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,373,964,000 after acquiring an additional 268,278 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UPS. Barclays reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded United Parcel Service from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.70.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

NYSE UPS traded down $0.16 on Monday, reaching $96.27. The company had a trading volume of 3,928,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,826,898. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $110.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.61. 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 12 month low of $90.55 and a 12 month high of $153.42.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (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 period in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.81%. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.