Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Buys 15,398 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 46,234 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,398 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,905,138 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,753,405,000 after acquiring an additional 768,912 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,774,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,106,381,000 after purchasing an additional 444,384 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,792,139 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,603,459,000 after buying an additional 746,667 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,623,834 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,675,733,000 after buying an additional 762,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 2nd quarter worth about $851,842,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America raised United Parcel Service from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $114.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $96.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. HSBC raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.67.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $110.31 on Tuesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.00 and a 1 year high of $123.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $93.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $102.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.59.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.18. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 38.30% and a net margin of 6.28%.The business had revenue of $24.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.75 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 25,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.15, for a total transaction of $2,655,236.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.