United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Acquired by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 270.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,933 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,791 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cigna Investments Inc. New lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 4,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on 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, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $117.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.40 and a twelve month high of $158.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.11.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its 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 return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. Equities 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.58%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 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.