CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $326,000 in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,583 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,994,853,000 after buying an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $282,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851,900 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,989,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 5,136.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,079,964 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $147,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,339 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $147.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE UPS traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $116.35. 6,455,199 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,796,271. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $99.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.40 and a 52-week high of $158.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.33.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.64%. United Parcel Service's payout ratio is 97.04%.

United Parcel Service 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.