Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 1,484,452 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,484,452 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,384,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.6% in 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,035,313,000 after acquiring an additional 613,409 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $2,933,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after purchasing an additional 373,202 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 10,040,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,272,600,000 after buying an additional 1,277,328 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of UPS opened at $109.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.87 and a 12 month high of $154.29. The stock has a market cap of $93.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $118.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.40.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its 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 prior year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.98%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Baird R W cut United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Raymond James lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” 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 given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.57.

United Parcel Service Company 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.