West Tower Group LLC Grows Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

West Tower Group LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 61.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. West Tower Group LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in 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 worth $282,783,000 after buying an additional 1,851,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased 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 buying an additional 1,378,136 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position 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 worth $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in United Parcel Service by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 10,040,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $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 Up 0.7 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $118.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $101.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.58, a P/E/G 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $120.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.25.

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, 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 last year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on UPS shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on 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. Robert W. Baird cut United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial initiated coverage on United Parcel Service in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.09.

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.