Whipplewood Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 273 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Carlson Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at $807,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,455 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $688,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Sabal Trust CO raised its position in United Parcel Service by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Sabal Trust CO now owns 171,027 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,567,000 after buying an additional 5,005 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,556,868 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $196,321,000 after acquiring an additional 260,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 185 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 brokerages have recently weighed in on UPS. Argus upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 1.1 %

United Parcel Service stock opened at $118.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $122.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.08. The firm has a market cap of $101.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.51%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.04%.

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.