Bailard Inc. Purchases 18,653 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Bailard Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 392.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,404 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,653 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at about $411,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs now owns 30,741 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,485 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,456 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,525,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $560,000. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $98.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.62 billion, a PE ratio of 15.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.06. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.00 and a 52-week high of $122.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.48.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.99 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 106.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UPS. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.87.

United Parcel Service Profile

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.