Rahlfs Capital LLC Invests $233,000 in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Rahlfs Capital LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,850 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at $1,075,393,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth about $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 833.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $282,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851,900 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,384,567,000 after buying an additional 1,484,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $397,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.18.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS stock opened at $97.62 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.57 and a 1-year high of $153.42. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $115.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.64. The firm has a market cap of $83.39 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.72%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 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.