Trexquant Investment LP Makes New $20.49 Million Investment in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 162,502 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,492,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of UPS. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $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 about $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,304,000 after purchasing an additional 28,108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. Barclays dropped 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. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.26.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of UPS opened at $110.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $118.12 and its 200-day moving average is $126.27. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $108.30 and a one year high of $154.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.96%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. 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.