GWN Securities Inc. Invests $247,000 in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

GWN Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,859 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $113,064,000 after buying an additional 33,989 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth about $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,934,000 after buying an additional 6,941 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth about $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,304,000 after buying an additional 28,108 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS stock opened at $118.13 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.32. The stock has a market cap of $100.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, 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 $158.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 97.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.