Freedom Investment Management Inc. Has $828,000 Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 77.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,568 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,874 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Pacific Sage Partners LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Gleason Group Inc. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,660 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altus Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:UPS opened at $96.34 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.66. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.55 and a fifty-two week high of $153.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business posted $2.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued 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 6.81%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $149.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.70.

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.