CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 2,583 United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of UPS. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,064,000 after acquiring an additional 33,989 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after buying an additional 1,620,091 shares during the period. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth $1,305,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UPS. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird cut shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.73.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.4 %

United Parcel Service stock opened at $114.96 on Thursday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. The company has a market cap of $98.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.98. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.48.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.71%. 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. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.