Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Takes Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 24,640 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,874,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MWA Asset Management acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the 3rd quarter worth $2,125,000. Chesapeake Wealth Management grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 7,886 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 387,381 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,908,000 after purchasing an additional 44,721 shares in the last quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 58,184 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,148,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,337 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,587,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.96.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE UPS traded up $0.83 on Thursday, hitting $147.45. 3,553,246 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,351,563. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $149.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.01. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.68 and a fifty-two week high of $192.98. The firm has a market cap of $125.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.05.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.42%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto purchased 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $142.30 per share, for a total transaction of $199,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,220. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.