United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Bought by Inspire Trust Co. N.A.

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 27.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,209 shares during the quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in UPS. State Street Corp grew its position in 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 worth $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the 3rd 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 raised its position in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after acquiring an additional 373,202 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after purchasing an additional 14,539,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after purchasing an additional 380,229 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UPS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.29.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $128.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $123.12 and a one year high of $163.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $132.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $132.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 98.49%.

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.