United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Stake Raised by Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,911 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the third 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 during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the third 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 during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,305,000. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.6 %

UPS stock opened at $116.37 on Monday. 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 1 year low of $109.40 and a 1 year high of $158.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.78. The firm has a market cap of $99.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share 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 last year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.64%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 96.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on UPS. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 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 assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

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.