O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. Purchases 1,805 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 49.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,805 shares during the quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,994,853,000 after purchasing an additional 14,539,321 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 284.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,569,831 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $351,681,000 after buying an additional 1,901,914 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $282,783,000 after buying an additional 1,851,900 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS opened at $129.77 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $121.56 and a one year high of $161.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00.

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

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued 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 payout ratio is presently 98.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UPS. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Susquehanna raised their target price on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.10.

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.