Paralel Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Paralel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,894 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,536 shares during the quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,130,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UPS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,075,393,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $393,680,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15.6% during 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 buying an additional 1,484,452 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 77.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $397,329,000 after buying an additional 1,378,136 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on UPS shares. Baird R W lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $128.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.32.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

NYSE:UPS traded down $2.94 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $96.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 230,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,764,496. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.55 and a 52-week high of $153.42. The company has a market capitalization of $82.62 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $112.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17.

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

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.78%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.