Vestcor Inc Reduces Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Vestcor Inc lowered its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,188 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the third 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 last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth approximately $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted 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 worth $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UPS shares. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $116.90 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $158.95. The company has a market capitalization of $99.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $120.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.38.

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

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.61%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

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.