VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Takes Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 439 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,304,000 after purchasing an additional 28,108 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital dropped 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 1.2 %

United Parcel Service stock opened at $117.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.40 and a twelve month high of $158.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.18.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

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.