&Partners Acquires 3,333 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

&Partners lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 103.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,541 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 3,333 shares during the quarter. &Partners’ holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Paralel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 9,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the 3rd quarter valued at $264,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 660.0% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 41,126 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,406,000 after purchasing an additional 35,715 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 93.7% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 36,278 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 17,547 shares during the period. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.0% in the third quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,089 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE UPS traded down $0.27 on Friday, reaching $136.60. 9,237,861 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,347,812. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $132.90 and a one year high of $192.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.23.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on UPS shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on United Parcel Service in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.95.

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.