PYA Waltman Capital LLC Buys 819 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

PYA Waltman Capital LLC raised its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,275 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the quarter. PYA Waltman Capital LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after buying an additional 33,989 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at about $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during 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 last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,305,000. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPS has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of 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 downgraded United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $116.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $99.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.40. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.63%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 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.