Boston Research & Management Inc. Increases Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Boston Research & Management Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,853 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the period. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $5,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UPS. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 74,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,635,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth $218,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 128.2% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,028 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 126,035 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,817,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 114.7% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 12,006 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 6,413 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other news, Director William R. Johnson purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $128.61 per share, for a total transaction of $643,050.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $663,627.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $169.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $144.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.68.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $128.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $130.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.35. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.12 and a 52-week high of $163.82.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $21.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.27% and a net margin of 5.87%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.49%.

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.