3,324 Shares in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 3,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $523,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 69.5% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 239 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto purchased 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,220. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of UPS stock traded down $3.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $145.76. 2,520,801 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,325,160. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $149.52 and its 200-day moving average is $151.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $124.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.68 and a 52 week high of $192.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.46% and a net margin of 7.37%. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 83.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Argus cut United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.09.

United Parcel Service Company 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.