Vision Financial Markets LLC Takes Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,111 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $392,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 62,953 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,583,000 after buying an additional 3,416 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 335,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,716,000 after buying an additional 61,360 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 3rd quarter valued at $148,000. Balentine LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 3rd quarter valued at $337,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Advisory LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 14,408 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,964,000 after buying an additional 3,960 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS stock opened at $119.10 on Thursday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $109.40 and a one year high of $158.95. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $121.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $101.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.51%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

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.