Brookstone Capital Management Acquires 10,655 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,837 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 10,655 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $13,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,064,000 after buying an additional 33,989 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,934,000 after buying an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after buying an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,919,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $367,300,000 after purchasing an additional 685,259 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research raised United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Argus raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:UPS traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $123.88. 2,284,190 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,881,597. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $121.56 and a 1 year high of $161.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $129.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.49%.

About United Parcel Service

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.