Bell Bank Acquires 3,103 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Bell Bank lifted its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 5.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 59,094 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,103 shares during the period. United Parcel Service makes up approximately 1.0% of Bell Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Bell Bank’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $8,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 55.7% in the third quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,590 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 3,073 shares during the period. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 60.3% in the 3rd quarter. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,924 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,717,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 4,369 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parametrica Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the third quarter worth $210,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UPS. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Baird R W raised shares of United Parcel Service to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.52.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $133.72 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $132.17 and a 200 day moving average of $134.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.99. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.12 and a 52 week high of $163.82.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.88%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.49%.

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.