Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Trims Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc cut its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,258 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,667 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 69.5% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 239 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In related news, Director Eva C. Boratto purchased 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,220. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.61.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UPS traded up $1.90 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $147.26. 4,073,339 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,318,742. The firm has a market cap of $125.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.68 and a twelve month high of $197.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.46% and a net margin of 7.37%. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

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.