Metis Global Partners LLC Has $3.94 Million Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,214 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,363 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pacific Sage Partners LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 4,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.2% in the third quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 7,177 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $118.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.08.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.51%. United Parcel Service’s 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.