BankPlus Trust Department Invests $825,000 in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 6,540 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $825,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UPS. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,080,170,000 after purchasing an additional 373,202 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,448,960,000 after purchasing an additional 380,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,639,272 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $632,518,000 after purchasing an additional 292,777 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UPS. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS stock opened at $116.35 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.39. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $158.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98.

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

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change 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 payout ratio 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.