Phoenix Financial Ltd. Cuts Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. trimmed its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,368 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 868 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $677,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 33,989 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at about $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position 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 valued at $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth about $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $16,304,000 after purchasing an additional 28,108 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 3.3 %

NYSE UPS opened at $96.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $90.55 and a one year high of $153.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.36 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.80%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 97.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UPS shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Susquehanna reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.32.

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.