United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Acquired by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,616 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,941 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 33,989 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth approximately $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased 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 last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UPS shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial began coverage on United Parcel Service in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.18.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 2.5 %

UPS opened at $97.62 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.57 and a 12-month high of $153.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.39 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $115.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.64.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.72%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

About United Parcel Service

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.