Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Sells 138 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lessened its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,020 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 138 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,213,699,000 after purchasing an additional 370,705 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,933,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337,058 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,979,695,000 after acquiring an additional 414,710 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,384,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484,452 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Baird R W lowered United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.83.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $110.16 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $117.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.04. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $107.52 and a 52-week high of $154.29. The company has a market cap of $94.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.95%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

United Parcel Service 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.