Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 60,266 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,829,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 60,266 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.86% of United Parcel Service worth $2,473,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 48,640 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,648,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 44.3% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,403,000 after acquiring an additional 4,689 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 56,380 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,865,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 105,094 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,524,000 after acquiring an additional 14,837 shares during the period. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $127,000. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on UPS shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Argus cut United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE:UPS traded down $0.69 on Wednesday, hitting $146.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 992,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,147,550. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $149.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

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

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.