Sovran Advisors LLC Invests $659,000 in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 5,239 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 232.3% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 397.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 214 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 408.2% in the 3rd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 249 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 720.0% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE UPS opened at $114.49 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $125.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.73%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Baird R W lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

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.