Boston Research & Management Inc. Purchases 1,183 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Boston Research & Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,759 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $5,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 32,289 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,402,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 69.0% during the third quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 7,786 shares during the period. Encompass More Asset Management raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 2,040 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 24,923 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 397.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 214 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE UPS opened at $109.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.87 and a 52 week high of $154.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $118.52 and a 200-day moving average of $126.40.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $128.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.57.

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.