Hardy Reed LLC Invests $354,000 in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Hardy Reed LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,811 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $354,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 397.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 214 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 232.3% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 720.0% in the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 408.2% during the third quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 249 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Susquehanna cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $114.96 on Thursday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $123.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.48. The company has a market capitalization of $98.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.40 and a twelve month high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.71%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

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.