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

Heritage Wealth Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 491 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,941 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $1,305,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS stock opened at $118.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $122.41 and a 200-day moving average of $128.08. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $158.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $101.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted 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 posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.