Brighton Jones LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 33.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,917 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,541 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.9% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,557 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.9% during the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 5,413 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.9% during the first quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 11,421 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.4% during the first quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.3% during the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 7,861 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William R. Johnson bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $86.50 per share, with a total value of $432,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 10,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $878,840. The trade was a 96.90% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Carol B. Tome bought 11,682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $85.67 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,796.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,117,591.06. This represents a 89.61% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 17,182 shares of company stock valued at $1,477,382. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $87.21 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.13. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.00 and a fifty-two week high of $140.33. The company has a market capitalization of $73.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.01). United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.61% and a net margin of 6.34%.The company had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on UPS shares. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $113.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $124.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. BNP Paribas raised shares of United Parcel Service to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.31.

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.