Sound Income Strategies LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Sound Income Strategies LLC reduced its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,764 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 4,672 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $15,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth about $902,446,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 72.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,818,314 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,370,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,826,824 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 175.7% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,200,135 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $515,801,000 after buying an additional 3,314,166 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 507.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,244,234 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $321,796,000 after acquiring an additional 2,710,470 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $181,951,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

United Parcel Service Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE UPS opened at $110.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.00 and a 52-week high of $122.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $104.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.21.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.15%.

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.