Empirical Finance LLC Acquires 525 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 2.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,995 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 worth $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares during the period. Natixis bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 1st quarter worth approximately $121,000. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 26.4% during the third quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 3,835 shares during the period. Financial Partners Group LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 23.9% in the second quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 26,319 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,602,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069 shares during the period. Finally, Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 71.8% during the second quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. now owns 14,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,988,000 after acquiring an additional 6,073 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on UPS shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Argus raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Baird R W raised United Parcel Service to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.52.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $132.45 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.88. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $123.12 and a one year high of $163.82. 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 has a market cap of $113.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.99.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.49%.

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.