Dean Investment Associates LLC Has $3.50 Million Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Dean Investment Associates LLC trimmed its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 26.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,747 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 10,096 shares during the period. Dean Investment Associates LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,064,000 after acquiring an additional 33,989 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,304,000 after buying an additional 28,108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird downgraded United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial initiated coverage on United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.32.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $94.30 on Thursday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $111.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.27. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.55 and a 52-week high of $153.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10.

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 return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.96%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.04%.

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.