Intellus Advisors LLC Takes $6.14 Million Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Intellus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 48,712 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,143,000. United Parcel Service makes up about 1.1% of Intellus Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.9% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 14,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in United Parcel Service by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 337,580 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $46,026,000 after buying an additional 9,250 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 130,482 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $17,281,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lathrop Investment Management Corp lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.5% during the third quarter. Lathrop Investment Management Corp now owns 56,384 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,687,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $115.25 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $98.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase 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 5.69%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

United Parcel Service Company 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.