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

Principle Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,595 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 108,360 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,793,000 after purchasing an additional 30,815 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 2,441.5% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 8,641 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after buying an additional 8,301 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 4,163 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,390 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,972,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on UPS. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Baird R W cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS opened at $114.49 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $125.55 and its 200-day moving average is $129.16. The stock has a market cap of $97.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.40 and a twelve month high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. On average, analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.73%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 96.45%.

About United Parcel Service

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.