South Dakota Investment Council Purchases 35,370 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

South Dakota Investment Council increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 42.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,820 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,370 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $14,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 4.3% during 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 acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares during the period. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth $1,305,000. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $116.35 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $158.95. The stock has a market cap of $99.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $123.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.64%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.04%.

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.