Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Raises Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,720 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Montecito Bank & Trust boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 12.3% in the third quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 3,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,468 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,053.0% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 75,173 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,717,000 after acquiring an additional 68,653 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 7.3% during the third quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. Finally, Mcrae Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.2% during the third quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,488 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto purchased 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,220. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on UPS shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $154.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $153.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.61.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS traded up $2.33 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $147.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,455,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,323,447. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $149.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.10. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.68 and a 12 month high of $197.31.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.46% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.70%.

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.