United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Stock Holdings Lifted by Central Valley Advisors LLC

Central Valley Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,578 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Central Valley Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cigna Investments Inc. New boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Gleason Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,576 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 4,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 7,177 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $979,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of UPS stock opened at $129.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $110.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.56 and a 12-month high of $161.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $129.09 and a 200-day moving average of $130.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.02%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.10.

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.