Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Purchases New Shares in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,600 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,463,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 232.3% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in United Parcel Service by 397.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 214 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on UPS shares. Wolfe Research raised United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.00.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of UPS opened at $121.59 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $103.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.77. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.40 and a 52-week high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 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.