United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS Holdings Boosted by Axa S.A.

Axa S.A. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,600 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,250 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $30,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the second quarter worth about $851,842,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 11,517.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,503,413 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $252,695,000 after purchasing an additional 2,481,864 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the 1st quarter worth about $201,358,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 78.7% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,086,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $412,528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,799,882 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 45.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,730,804 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $578,467,000 after buying an additional 1,789,467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE:UPS opened at $96.99 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $91.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.00 and a 1-year high of $136.99.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The transportation company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.43. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 40.07%. The company had revenue of $21.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on UPS shares. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down from $125.00) on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $109.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on United Parcel Service from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.00.

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.