Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Increases Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 66,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,816 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $6,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV now owns 11,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Westbourne Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Westbourne Investments Inc. now owns 7,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,670 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 698 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peoples Financial Services CORP. lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 4,030 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Evercore cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.10.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE UPS opened at $117.77 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.00 and a 1 year high of $122.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.05. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 5.94%.The firm had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.15%.

United Parcel Service Profile

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.