United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Purchased by Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,066 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 73.7% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,083,918 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $136,682,000 after acquiring an additional 459,854 shares during the period. SWS Partners grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. SWS Partners now owns 16,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,084,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $2,933,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337,058 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 70,388 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,315 shares during the period. Finally, Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 21,868 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UPS shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given 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 a consensus price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of UPS opened at $116.79 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $122.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.94. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.62%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.