Sowell Financial Services LLC Raises Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,629 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $8,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UPS. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position 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 increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $397,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,136 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 10,040,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,272,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277,328 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.00.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $121.59 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $121.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.77. The stock has a market cap of $103.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.40%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 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.