Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Boosts Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,424 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gimbal Financial purchased a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 79,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,448,000 after purchasing an additional 3,080 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 5,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $859,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the period. Mengis Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,296 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,369.8% during the fourth quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. now owns 221,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,889,000 after purchasing an additional 206,803 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto purchased 1,400 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,220. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $147.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $125.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $149.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.68 and a 12 month high of $192.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 94.49%.

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.