GWN Securities Inc. Invests $247,000 in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,859 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the fourth 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 increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after buying an additional 373,202 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,448,960,000 after buying an additional 380,229 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 10,040,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,272,600,000 after buying an additional 1,277,328 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE UPS opened at $118.13 on Tuesday. 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 $120.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.32. 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 company has a market capitalization of $100.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.55%. 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. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UPS shares. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $119.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.09.

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.