Stolper Co Acquires 1,521 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Stolper Co lifted its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS – Get Rating) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,109 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,521 shares during the period. United Parcel Service makes up about 2.2% of Stolper Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Stolper Co’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $5,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UPS. RB Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 1st quarter worth $1,162,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 1st quarter worth $515,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 1st quarter worth $701,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Laura J. Lane sold 14,617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.16, for a total transaction of $2,604,164.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other United Parcel Service news, CFO Brian Newman sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.46, for a total transaction of $3,466,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 11,677 shares in the company, valued at $2,130,585.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laura J. Lane sold 14,617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.16, for a total value of $2,604,164.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,341 shares of company stock valued at $9,848,061 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UPS. Raymond James dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $210.00 to $207.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on United Parcel Service from $195.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas downgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 30th. Exane BNP Paribas downgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on United Parcel Service from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.54.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of UPS stock traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $186.79. The stock had a trading volume of 20,535,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,207,876. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $154.87 and a one year high of $223.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $183.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.08.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.59 by $0.03. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 66.10% and a net margin of 11.51%. The company had revenue of $27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 11.5 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 31st that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.52. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 17th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 49.09%.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

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United Parcel Service, Inc is a package delivery company, which engages in the provision of global supply chain management solutions. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain Solutions. The U.S. Domestic Package segment includes time-definite delivery of letters, documents, and packages.