Stevens Capital Management LP Purchases New Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,359 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $528,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the third quarter worth $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 69.5% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 239 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Eva C. Boratto purchased 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $142.30 per share, for a total transaction of $199,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,220. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:UPS traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $147.45. 3,553,246 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,351,563. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $133.68 and a one year high of $192.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.03.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The business’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna raised their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. HSBC upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday. TheStreet raised United Parcel Service from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.96.

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.