EWG Elevate Inc. Invests $93,000 in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

EWG Elevate Inc. bought a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS – Get Rating) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 536 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coston McIsaac & Partners purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 334.1% during the second quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 178 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 65.8% in the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 199 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 276 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS opened at $186.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $160.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $183.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.30. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.87 and a 12-month high of $223.97.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.59 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.03 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 66.10%. The company’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 11.5 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.52. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.09%.

United Parcel Service declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 31st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $210.00 to $207.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $180.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Exane BNP Paribas cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 30th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.54.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Laura J. Lane sold 14,617 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.16, for a total value of $2,604,164.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Brian Newman sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.46, for a total transaction of $3,466,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 11,677 shares in the company, valued at $2,130,585.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura J. Lane sold 14,617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.16, for a total transaction of $2,604,164.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,341 shares of company stock valued at $9,848,061 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About United Parcel Service

(Get Rating)

United Parcel Service, Inc is a package delivery company, which engages in the provision of global supply chain management solutions. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain Solutions. The U.S. Domestic Package segment includes time-definite delivery of letters, documents, and packages.