Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 12,483 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,574,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after purchasing an additional 33,989 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at about $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,305,000. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $118.11 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $100.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.40 and a 12 month high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 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, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

About United Parcel Service

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.