United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Position Reduced by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. cut its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 64,682 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 17,318 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $8,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 1,337,058 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,080,170,000 after buying an additional 373,202 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after buying an additional 380,229 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 valued at $1,272,600,000 after buying an additional 1,277,328 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $115.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.40 and a 1-year high of $158.95. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $121.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.47.

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

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is a boost 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 5.70%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 97.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on UPS shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.09.

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.