United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Sheets Smith Wealth Management

Sheets Smith Wealth Management lowered its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 21,588 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,889,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,456,055,000 after acquiring an additional 628,944 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,280,190,000 after purchasing an additional 14,410,073 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 31.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,677,202 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,508,385,000 after purchasing an additional 2,331,875 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,411,989 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,311,177,000 after purchasing an additional 31,533 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,433,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $379,245,000 after purchasing an additional 532,934 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Argus downgraded United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $154.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS stock traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $146.43. The company had a trading volume of 2,039,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,606,672. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $133.68 and a one year high of $192.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. United Parcel Service’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.23 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 94.49%.

United Parcel Service Company 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.