United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Bought by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,258 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,821 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $5,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $282,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $397,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,136 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,337,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 10,040,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,272,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277,328 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

NYSE UPS opened at $116.35 on Wednesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $121.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.64. 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 firm has a market cap of $99.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted 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 last year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.64%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UPS. StockNews.com raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.00.

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.