Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 10,500 United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,651,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aspire Private Capital LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.3% in the first quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 18,392 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,568,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN increased its position in United Parcel Service by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 334 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Gleason Group Inc. increased its position in United Parcel Service by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 15,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.61.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE UPS opened at $143.55 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.68 and a 1-year high of $197.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $24.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.40 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.46% and a net margin of 7.37%. The company’s revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.62 EPS. Equities analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.54%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eva C. Boratto purchased 1,400 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,220. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.