Payden & Rygel Investment Group Invests $208,000 in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Payden & Rygel Investment Group acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on UPS shares. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $168.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $175.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Johnson bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $128.61 per share, for a total transaction of $643,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,160 shares in the company, valued at $663,627.60. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UPS traded down $1.45 during trading on Thursday, reaching $127.08. 7,738,113 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,211,027. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.04. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.80 and a 12 month high of $189.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $138.05 and a 200-day moving average of $145.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.20). United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 34.90% and a net margin of 5.87%. The firm had revenue of $21.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.54 EPS. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.49%.

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.