First PREMIER Bank Increases Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 128.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,053 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. 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 worth $1,994,853,000 after buying an additional 14,539,321 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $282,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,320,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 5,136.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,079,964 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $147,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,339 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on UPS. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Argus raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America raised United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.2 %

UPS stock opened at $132.59 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $128.95 and a 200 day moving average of $130.82. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.56 and a twelve month high of $161.35. The firm has a market cap of $113.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.00.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted 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. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. United Parcel Service’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.49%.

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.