Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Cuts Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV reduced its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,927 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 485 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,889,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,456,055,000 after purchasing an additional 628,944 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,280,190,000 after purchasing an additional 14,410,073 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 31.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,677,202 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,508,385,000 after purchasing an additional 2,331,875 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,607,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,510,517,000 after purchasing an additional 980,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,411,989 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,311,177,000 after purchasing an additional 31,533 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UPS. Oppenheimer raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Argus downgraded United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight 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 “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.3 %

United Parcel Service stock traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $138.66. The stock had a trading volume of 2,995,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,760,187. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.68 and a 52 week high of $192.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $118.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $147.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.85.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.70%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.49%.

United Parcel Service 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.