ARK Investment Management LLC Sells 139 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

ARK Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,522 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 139 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the 3rd 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. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after buying an additional 1,620,091 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,989,609,000 after buying an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in United Parcel Service by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,919,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $367,300,000 after acquiring an additional 685,259 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after acquiring an additional 613,409 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE:UPS opened at $116.83 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $99.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.40 and a 1 year high of $158.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.61%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna reduced their target price 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, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

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.