Swiss National Bank Reduces Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Swiss National Bank reduced its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,069,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 95,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.24% of United Parcel Service worth $260,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 232.3% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 397.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 214 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.00.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of UPS stock opened at $115.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $98.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $121.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.55.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.70%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.