Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Increases Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 78,852 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 6,943 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $9,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after purchasing an additional 613,409 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after buying an additional 1,320,921 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after buying an additional 373,202 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,448,960,000 after acquiring an additional 380,229 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Argus raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $113.20 on Monday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.40 and a twelve month high of $158.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company’s 50 day moving average is $125.95 and its 200 day moving average is $129.25. The company has a market cap of $96.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 96.45%.

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.