Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Buys 117 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,254 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 117 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,280,190,000 after purchasing an additional 14,410,073 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth about $1,255,623,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 105,818.6% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,215,560 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $732,833,000 after purchasing an additional 4,211,580 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 31.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,677,202 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,508,385,000 after purchasing an additional 2,331,875 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,730,090 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,343,799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949,775 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of UPS opened at $142.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $149.75 and a 200 day moving average of $151.40. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.68 and a twelve month high of $197.80.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $24.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.40 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 39.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Eva C. Boratto bought 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,220. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UPS. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $154.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $153.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.61.

United Parcel Service Company 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.