Financial Enhancement Group LLC Purchases Shares of 1,697 United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Financial Enhancement Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,697 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after acquiring an additional 373,202 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after purchasing an additional 380,229 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $127.42 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $129.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.01. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.56 and a 12-month high of $161.35. The stock has a market cap of $108.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.49%.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.