Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 77.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,378,136 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $397,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after purchasing an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after buying an additional 6,941 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth about $1,305,000. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 85.7% during the 4th quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 4,757 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,195 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:UPS opened at $114.25 on Thursday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $158.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.06. The firm has a market cap of $97.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.45%.

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.