Valley National Advisers Inc. Buys 351 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,184 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 351 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the second quarter worth $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the third quarter worth $25,000. IMA Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 100.0% in the second quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 142 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the first quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the first quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Parcel Service news, Director Eva C. Boratto acquired 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,400 shares in the company, valued at $199,220. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of UPS stock opened at $150.10 on Tuesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.68 and a 52-week high of $197.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.71. The company has a market capitalization of $127.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.01. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 39.46%. The firm had revenue of $24.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.87.

About United Parcel Service

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.