United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Holdings Lowered by Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC cut its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 74,683 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 987 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $9,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after purchasing an additional 33,989 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at about $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth about $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,304,000 after acquiring an additional 28,108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $115.25 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $98.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, 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 $157.99. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $120.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.00.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share 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 paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 5.69%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their price objective 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 target price for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.09.

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.