United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) is Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s 3rd Largest Position

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 682,009 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,733 shares during the period. United Parcel Service comprises approximately 2.8% of Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of United Parcel Service worth $132,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Journey Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 7.8% during the first quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the first quarter worth about $666,000. DnB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the first quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 173,857 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,727,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.3% during the first quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 12,634 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,451,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 12.0% in the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 58.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Nando Cesarone sold 22,825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.70, for a total value of $3,919,052.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on United Parcel Service in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. UBS Group cut United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $198.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $204.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.54.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $161.04 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $154.87 and a one year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $177.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.09.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The transportation company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.04 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 10.41%. The firm’s revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 14th were given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 11th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 56.20%.

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 letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States.