Aviance Capital Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC cut its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,505 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UPS. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in 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 worth $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after buying an additional 373,202 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,448,960,000 after buying an additional 380,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,639,272 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $632,518,000 after buying an additional 292,777 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on United Parcel Service in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating and a $119.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 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 issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.00.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $121.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $103.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.78. 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.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.40%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.