Wealthspire Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,693 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 783 shares during the quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 334 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Gleason Group Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 15,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dfpg Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 25,270 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,981,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $147.30. 260,288 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,105,761. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.68 and a fifty-two week high of $192.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $125.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $149.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.51.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 94.49%.

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.