United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Holdings Raised by Stokes Capital Advisors LLC

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 34.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,917 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 7,372 shares during the quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cigna Investments Inc. New increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Gleason Group Inc. grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the third quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,576 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Tradewinds LLC. raised its position in United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 4,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 7,177 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Bank of America upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $129.77 on Monday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.56 and a fifty-two week high of $161.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $128.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $110.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00.

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

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 98.49%.

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.