FourThought Financial Partners LLC Invests $202,000 in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,603 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mengis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,761 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 4,745 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 27,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,495,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth about $825,000. Skylands Capital LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 40,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,069,000 after acquiring an additional 7,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 270.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,933 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 5,791 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on UPS. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

NYSE UPS opened at $116.83 on Thursday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.40 and a 1 year high of $158.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $99.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.61%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

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.