United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Sage Mountain Advisors LLC

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,180 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 204 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Morton Community Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth $1,895,000. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 46,258 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,833,000 after buying an additional 7,821 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 98,355 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,403,000 after buying an additional 7,093 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 296,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,437,000 after buying an additional 11,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,735 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 1,349 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS stock opened at $120.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $103.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.72. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.44%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Baird R W lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given 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, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.00.

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.