Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $27.58 Million in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 218,745 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,584,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 232.3% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in United Parcel Service in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UPS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Baird R W cut United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $118.97 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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. As a group, analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 97.04%.

About United Parcel Service

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.