United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Purchased by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,693 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $11,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth about $1,075,393,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $282,783,000 after buying 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 fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $397,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 6.1% in 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 during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS opened at $109.66 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.40 and a twelve month high of $154.29. 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 cap of $93.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.44.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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 $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.98%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.57.

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.