United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Rench Wealth Management Inc.

Rench Wealth Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,775 shares during the quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,213,699,000 after purchasing an additional 370,705 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 6.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,979,695,000 after buying an additional 414,710 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 15.6% in 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. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,895,828 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,373,964,000 after acquiring an additional 268,278 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:UPS opened at $98.46 on Tuesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.55 and a 52-week high of $153.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.66. The company has a market capitalization of $84.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced 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 net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. On average, equities research 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 97.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $149.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Raymond James lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.32.

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.