United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Purchased by Sawyer & Company Inc

Sawyer & Company Inc boosted its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS – Get Rating) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,808 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the quarter. United Parcel Service accounts for 2.0% of Sawyer & Company Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $4,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 11.1% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 51,249 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,355,000 after purchasing an additional 5,128 shares in the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.0% during the third quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Sawtooth Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 12.1% during the third quarter. Sawtooth Solutions LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the second quarter worth about $1,132,000. Finally, Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 13.5% during the third quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 13,832 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on UPS. UBS Group set a $196.00 price objective on United Parcel Service in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Cowen boosted their price target on United Parcel Service from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. BNP Paribas cut United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on United Parcel Service from $195.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on United Parcel Service from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.54.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:UPS opened at $186.79 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $183.09 and a 200-day moving average of $178.30. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.87 and a 52 week high of $223.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.59 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.03 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 66.10% and a net margin of 11.51%. The business’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.59 earnings per share. Analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 11.5 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 17th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.52. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 49.09%.

United Parcel Service announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 31st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other news, CFO Brian Newman sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.46, for a total transaction of $3,466,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,677 shares in the company, valued at $2,130,585.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other United Parcel Service news, insider Laura J. Lane sold 14,617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.16, for a total value of $2,604,164.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian Newman sold 19,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.46, for a total value of $3,466,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,130,585.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,341 shares of company stock worth $9,848,061. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

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United Parcel Service, Inc is a package delivery company, which engages in the provision of global supply chain management solutions. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain Solutions. The U.S. Domestic Package segment includes time-definite delivery of letters, documents, and packages.