Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 7,858 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $991,000. United Parcel Service makes up approximately 0.9% of Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UPS. State Street Corp increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,035,313,000 after acquiring an additional 613,409 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,080,170,000 after buying an additional 373,202 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after buying an additional 380,229 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,639,272 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $632,518,000 after buying an additional 292,777 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE:UPS opened at $118.97 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $122.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on UPS shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

About United Parcel Service

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.