Sovran Advisors LLC Makes New $659,000 Investment in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,239 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of UPS. State Street Corp raised its position in United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,035,313,000 after purchasing an additional 613,409 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after buying an additional 1,320,921 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,080,170,000 after buying an additional 373,202 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 3.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,448,960,000 after acquiring an additional 380,229 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $114.49 on Wednesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $158.95. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. Analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.64 dividend. 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 5.73%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has an average 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.