United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Bought by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Empirical Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,036 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,991 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,395,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. raised its position in United Parcel Service by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. now owns 20,736 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 232.3% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 68.1% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,937 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,631,000 after buying an additional 5,241 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of 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 note on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE UPS opened at $129.77 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $121.56 and a 12 month high of $161.35. The company has a market capitalization of $110.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $129.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.97.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.02%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.