LS Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

LS Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,595 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,055 shares during the quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,218,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,568,798,000 after buying an additional 178,394 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 87.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,854,180,000 after acquiring an additional 8,475,698 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,607,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,510,517,000 after acquiring an additional 980,317 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,128,322,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,671,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $991,556,000 after purchasing an additional 406,248 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $175.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.20.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, Director William R. Johnson purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $128.61 per share, with a total value of $643,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,160 shares in the company, valued at $663,627.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:UPS traded down $1.36 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $127.90. The stock had a trading volume of 3,202,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,251,628. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $123.12 and a one year high of $172.75. The company has a market capitalization of $109.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 1.85 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.20). United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 35.27%. The firm had revenue of $21.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.54 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.10%. 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.