Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $7.65 Million Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,640 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $7,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 334 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Gleason Group Inc. increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $999,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.5% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Dfpg Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 25,270 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,981,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $146.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,073,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,192,927. The firm has a market cap of $125.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.68 and a 52 week high of $192.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $149.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.56.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. United Parcel Service’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.23 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on UPS. Bank of America boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.23.

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.