Wellington Shields & Co. LLC Has $692,000 Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 22.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,485 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 22.4% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 335,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,716,000 after buying an additional 61,360 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.5% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,381,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 4.9% during the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 4,369 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 131,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $17,872,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.7% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 29,851 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,070,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE UPS opened at $116.90 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $120.91 and its 200-day moving average is $127.38. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $158.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $99.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

About United Parcel Service

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.