Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $162,000 Investment in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,281 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $162,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UPS. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 249,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,021,000 after acquiring an additional 71,996 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 16,940 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,310,000 after buying an additional 2,060 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 1,367 shares in the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 204,094 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,826,000 after buying an additional 3,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equity Investment Corp raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 521,033 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $71,038,000 after buying an additional 15,641 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:UPS opened at $118.13 on Tuesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $158.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.32.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period last year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.64 dividend. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UPS. Evercore ISI increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Loop Capital dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on United Parcel Service in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $119.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.09.

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.