Stokes Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 7,372 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 34.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,917 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,372 shares during the period. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 232.3% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 397.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 214 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 408.2% in the 3rd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 249 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 720.0% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the third quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company's stock.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE UPS traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $129.77. The stock had a trading volume of 4,260,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,680,905. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.56 and a twelve month high of $161.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company's 50 day moving average price is $128.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.87. The firm has a market cap of $110.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.02%. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on UPS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $151.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.