Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Reduces Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust reduced its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,203 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 788 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $282,783,000 after buying an additional 1,851,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,921 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,919,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $367,300,000 after purchasing an additional 685,259 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after purchasing an additional 613,409 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:UPS opened at $118.97 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $109.40 and a one year high of $158.95. 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 firm has a market cap of $101.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.08.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UPS shares. Argus raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

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.