Waverly Advisors LLC Raises Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Waverly Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 77.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,428 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 65,493 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $18,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $8,213,699,000 after purchasing an additional 370,705 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,979,695,000 after buying an additional 414,710 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,384,567,000 after buying an additional 1,484,452 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,895,828 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,373,964,000 after buying an additional 268,278 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered United Parcel Service from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered United Parcel Service from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $126.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $120.26.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $99.03 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $102.03 and a 200-day moving average of $117.25. 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 has a market capitalization of $84.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.55 and a 1-year high of $149.57.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.25 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.62%. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.63%.

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.

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