Phoenix Financial Ltd. Decreases Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lowered its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,368 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 868 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,027 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,774,000 after buying an additional 1,742 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 52.8% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 369,597 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $50,391,000 after acquiring an additional 127,734 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.8% in the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,060 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $554,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 12.2% during the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 17,236 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the third quarter worth about $1,021,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird downgraded United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $149.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.32.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 3.3 %

UPS stock opened at $96.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.21. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.55 and a 12 month high of $153.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.36 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. Equities analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.80%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.