Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 8,528,097 United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,528,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,075,393,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacific Sage Partners LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 16.7% during 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. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,660 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Weaver Consulting Group raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 3,053 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.57.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $111.05 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $118.92 and a 200 day moving average of $126.58. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $154.29. The stock has a market cap of $94.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS 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 firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 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.