Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 58.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 41,722 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 58,851 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $5,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,851,900 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,378,136 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,337,058 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,277,328 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS opened at $115.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $98.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $121.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.70%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 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.