Atomi Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 44.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,095 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 3,440 shares during the quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in 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 last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,305,000. Finally, Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 3,835 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $132.96 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $113.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.00. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.56 and a twelve month high of $161.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $128.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.83.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 98.49%.

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.