Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Increases Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $5,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of UPS. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 160,838 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,004,000 after acquiring an additional 49,356 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 709,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $110,527,000 after purchasing an additional 102,000 shares during the last quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 1,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the 3rd quarter valued at about $340,000. Finally, Jackson Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,278 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,381,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.5 %

United Parcel Service stock traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $135.55. 1,539,867 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,015,156. The company has a market cap of $115.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.90 and a twelve month high of $192.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $141.02 and a 200-day moving average of $148.03.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on UPS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.55.

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.