Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Has $2.71 Million Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC decreased its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,492 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 3,407 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UPS. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 62,953 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,583,000 after acquiring an additional 3,416 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 335,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,716,000 after buying an additional 61,360 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 82.0% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,052 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares during the period. 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 period. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the 3rd quarter worth about $496,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on UPS. StockNews.com raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Baird R W downgraded United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.00.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $121.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $103.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.40 and a 52 week high of $158.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $121.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 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 prior year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.40%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio 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.