United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS Shares Sold by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Sound Income Strategies LLC lessened its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,764 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 4,672 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $15,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,496,420 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,794,160,000 after buying an additional 1,218,432 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,092,627 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,183,268,000 after buying an additional 1,029,377 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,142,759 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,692,290,000 after buying an additional 856,125 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,154,091 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,703,291,000 after acquiring an additional 240,253 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 72.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,818,314 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,370,639,000 after acquiring an additional 5,826,824 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of UPS opened at $110.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.21. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.00 and a 1-year high of $122.41. The stock has a market cap of $94.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.05.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.05. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 5.94%.The firm had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 106.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted their price target on United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings cut United Parcel Service from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.85.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.