HTLF Bank Purchases Shares of 41,618 United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 41,618 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,544,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. IMA Wealth Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 142 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto bought 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $142.30 per share, for a total transaction of $199,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,400 shares in the company, valued at $199,220. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock traded up $0.89 on Friday, reaching $143.63. 825,957 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,262,463. The company has a market capitalization of $122.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.68 and a 52 week high of $197.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $149.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $24.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.40 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.46% and a net margin of 7.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.70%.

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.