Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC Decreases Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC lowered its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 31.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 550 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $69,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $282,783,000 after buying an additional 1,851,900 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $397,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,136 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,933,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 10,040,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,272,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277,328 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on UPS shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.91.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $110.01 on Wednesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.40 and a 12 month high of $157.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.96%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

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.