United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) is Merit Financial Group LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Merit Financial Group LLC reduced its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 881,544 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 9,362 shares during the period. United Parcel Service makes up about 4.2% of Merit Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $138,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,280,190,000 after purchasing an additional 14,410,073 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,677,202 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,508,385,000 after purchasing an additional 2,331,875 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,889,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,456,055,000 after purchasing an additional 628,944 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,026,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $315,832,000 after purchasing an additional 541,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,433,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $379,245,000 after acquiring an additional 532,934 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of UPS traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $146.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,998,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,217,563. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $149.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.74. The stock has a market cap of $124.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.68 and a 52 week high of $192.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. The company’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.23 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on UPS. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Argus lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.23.

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.