Calamos Advisors LLC Has $20.42 Million Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Calamos Advisors LLC lessened its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 129,847 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,050 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $20,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,280,190,000 after buying an additional 14,410,073 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,255,623,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 105,818.6% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,215,560 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $732,833,000 after buying an additional 4,211,580 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 31.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,677,202 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,508,385,000 after purchasing an additional 2,331,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,730,090 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,343,799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE:UPS traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $143.79. 398,976 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,257,256. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $133.68 and a one year high of $197.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.28.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.01. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 39.46%. The firm had revenue of $24.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.53%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In related news, Director Eva C. Boratto purchased 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,220. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UPS. Robert W. Baird raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. TheStreet raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.61.

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.