Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. Takes Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. 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 filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,007 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 334 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Gleason Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.5% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 15,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Dfpg Investments LLC grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 25,270 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,981,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on UPS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. TheStreet upgraded United Parcel Service from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE UPS traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $147.77. The company had a trading volume of 2,799,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,164,817. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $126.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.68 and a fifty-two week high of $192.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.53.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.23 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.41%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 94.49%.

About United Parcel Service

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.