Howe & Rusling Inc. Takes Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Howe & Rusling Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,552 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UPS. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth about $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,304,000 after purchasing an additional 28,108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $111.05 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.58. The company has a market cap of $94.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $154.29.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.91%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on UPS shares. Citigroup reduced 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 report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.57.

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.