Horizon Investments LLC Sells 2,800 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Horizon Investments LLC lowered its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 16.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,449 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 232.3% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 397.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 214 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on United Parcel Service in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS stock opened at $118.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $101.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $120.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.25. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.40 and a 1 year high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 5.52%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 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.