Stephens Consulting LLC Boosts Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 869.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 223 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $33,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UPS. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on United Parcel Service in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.55.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

NYSE UPS traded up $1.02 on Friday, reaching $136.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,609,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,011,769. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $141.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.50. The firm has a market cap of $117.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.01. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.90 and a 52 week high of $192.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. 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 prior year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.76%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 94.49%.

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.