United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS Shares Bought by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 10.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 83,474 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 7,638 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $8,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV now owns 11,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Westbourne Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Westbourne Investments Inc. now owns 7,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,670 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 698 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peoples Financial Services CORP. grew its position in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 4,030 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on UPS shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on United Parcel Service from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut United Parcel Service from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.85.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock traded up $1.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $111.19. 354,700 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,040,592. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.00 and a fifty-two week high of $122.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $104.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.99 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 5.94%.United Parcel Service’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.15%.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.