SageOak Financial LLC Invests $444,000 in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

SageOak Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,522 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. West Tower Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 61.9% in the fourth quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 104,237 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,130,000. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Susquehanna dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on United Parcel Service in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE UPS opened at $118.85 on Wednesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. The stock has a market cap of $101.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $120.67 and a 200-day moving average of $127.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.52%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

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.