Avestar Capital LLC Purchases 475 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,753 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $347,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Howard Bailey Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at about $365,000. PrairieView Partners LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 180.0% during the fourth quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 420 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 47,798 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,027,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 77.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $397,329,000 after buying an additional 1,378,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avion Wealth raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,152.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 451 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Argus raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS opened at $116.37 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $109.40 and a one year high of $158.95. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.64%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.04%.

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.