2,811 Shares in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Purchased by Hardy Reed LLC

Hardy Reed LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,811 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $354,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 232.3% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 397.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 214 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 408.2% during the 3rd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 249 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 720.0% during 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 shares of United Parcel Service in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS opened at $114.96 on Thursday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $109.40 and a one year high of $158.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $123.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $98.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 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 paid a $1.64 dividend. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

United Parcel Service 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.