Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC Raises Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,585 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,037 shares during the period. United Parcel Service comprises about 1.9% of Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $4,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,854,180,000 after acquiring an additional 8,475,698 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth $1,128,322,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 208.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,717,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $270,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160,005 shares during the period. Spirepoint Private Client LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 1st quarter worth about $160,787,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,607,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,510,517,000 after purchasing an additional 980,317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $169.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William R. Johnson bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $128.61 per share, for a total transaction of $643,050.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,160 shares in the company, valued at $663,627.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS stock opened at $127.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.68. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.12 and a 12-month high of $163.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.20). United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 35.27%. The business had revenue of $21.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.54 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.11%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.49%.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

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.