Aviance Capital Partners LLC Increases Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,914 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UPS. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 63.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,126 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 4,723 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $177,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in United Parcel Service by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100,212 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,637,000 after purchasing an additional 19,326 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,269 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of UPS opened at $104.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.55 and a 1 year high of $148.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.84. The firm has a market cap of $88.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.21.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.11. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The firm had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $128.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Galvan Research lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $147.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.29.

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.