VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Buys Shares of 439 United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 439 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 397.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 214 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 232.3% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on UPS shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Baird R W cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 1.2 %

UPS stock opened at $117.42 on Thursday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.40 and a 52-week 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 $100.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.18.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.59%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

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.