United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by U S Global Investors Inc.

U S Global Investors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 108 shares during the quarter. U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after buying an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth about $1,305,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.6 %

UPS opened at $117.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $122.54 and its 200-day moving average is $128.11. 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 52-week low of $109.40 and a 52-week high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. Analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.58%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

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.