United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Position Raised by Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,388 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,315 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $8,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,080,170,000 after acquiring an additional 373,202 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after purchasing an additional 380,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,639,272 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $632,518,000 after purchasing an additional 292,777 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE:UPS opened at $119.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.40 and a 1 year high of $158.95. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.88.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (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 prior year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Baird R W cut United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

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.