Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV Acquires Shares of 9,471 United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,194,000. United Parcel Service makes up approximately 1.1% of Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,213,699,000 after purchasing an additional 370,705 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,979,695,000 after buying an additional 414,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,384,567,000 after buying an additional 1,484,452 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $128.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.83.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS opened at $109.29 on Wednesday. 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’s 50 day moving average is $117.65 and its 200-day moving average is $126.15. The stock has a market cap of $93.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.18 and a twelve month high of $154.29.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.00%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.