United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC

Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 22.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,047 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 904 shares during the quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth about $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,851,900 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,378,136 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,277,328 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UPS shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 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. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.00.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:UPS opened at $121.59 on Monday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $121.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.77. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.40 and a 52 week high of $158.95. The company has a market cap of $103.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

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, analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 5.40%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.