Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Boosts Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 66,445 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,832 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $8,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. State Street Corp raised its position 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 valued at $4,035,313,000 after purchasing an additional 613,409 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,080,170,000 after acquiring an additional 373,202 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,448,960,000 after purchasing an additional 380,229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS stock opened at $111.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $95.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $127.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.69. 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 (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.86%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James cut their price objective 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, Argus upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Company 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.