Ceera Investments LLC Has $957,000 Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Ceera Investments LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 78.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,016 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,080 shares during the quarter. Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Bridge Advisors grew its position in United Parcel Service by 1.9% during the third quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 39,601 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,399,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 26.6% during the third quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC now owns 16,484 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,247,000 after purchasing an additional 3,467 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in United Parcel Service by 13.8% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 16,940 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060 shares in the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the third quarter valued at approximately $285,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 40.6% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 249,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,021,000 after purchasing an additional 71,996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $134.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $114.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $132.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.67. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Baird R W raised shares of United Parcel Service to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.52.

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.