United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) is Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 879,539 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,204 shares during the period. United Parcel Service comprises 4.0% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $110,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the third 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 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 worth $232,959,000 after buying an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after buying an additional 1,320,921 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,919,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $367,300,000 after buying an additional 685,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on UPS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 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. StockNews.com lowered United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS opened at $118.97 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.08. 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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. Research analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. 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 97.04%.

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.