South Dakota Investment Council Boosts Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

South Dakota Investment Council boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 21.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UPS. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 69.5% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 239 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $154.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.96.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto bought 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $142.30 per share, for a total transaction of $199,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,220. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS opened at $146.61 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.68 and a 1 year high of $192.98. The firm has a market cap of $125.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.05.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.63 dividend. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.49%.

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.