United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Purchased by PrairieView Partners LLC

PrairieView Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 180.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 420 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. PrairieView Partners LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $52,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after acquiring an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,941 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at $1,305,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on UPS shares. Baird R W lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $114.25 on Thursday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $109.40 and a one year high of $158.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $125.25 and a 200-day moving average of $129.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $97.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.45%.

United Parcel Service Company 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.