West Tower Group LLC Purchases 600 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

West Tower Group LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. West Tower Group LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 525.0% during the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 250 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 68.9% during the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 282 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $124.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $96.00 target price (down from $125.00) on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $114.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.31.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE UPS opened at $86.48 on Monday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.00 and a fifty-two week high of $145.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.41. The stock has a market cap of $73.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.01). United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.61% and a net margin of 6.34%.The business had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Carol B. Tome bought 11,682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $85.67 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,796.94. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,718 shares in the company, valued at $2,117,591.06. This trade represents a 89.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christiana Smith Shi bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.17 per share, with a total value of $44,085.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $44,085. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 17,182 shares of company stock worth $1,477,382. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Parcel Service Company 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.