Cetera Investment Advisers Purchases 242,915 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 359.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 310,451 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 242,915 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $46,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 94,365 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,026,000 after buying an additional 4,825 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter worth about $42,075,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter worth about $54,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter worth about $5,809,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 814.3% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 26,377 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,920,000 after purchasing an additional 23,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In related news, Director William R. Johnson purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $128.61 per share, with a total value of $643,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,160 shares in the company, valued at $663,627.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Baird R W upgraded United Parcel Service to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stephens lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $168.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective 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, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.95.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock traded down $2.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $128.06. The company had a trading volume of 5,098,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,758,688. The firm has a market cap of $109.56 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.04. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $124.80 and a one year high of $184.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $136.28 and a 200 day moving average of $144.65.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $21.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 35.27%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

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.