Stephens Consulting LLC Grows Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 869.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 223 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $33,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Paralel Advisors LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 9,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,538,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,345,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 111.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 135,704 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,152,000 after buying an additional 71,616 shares during the last quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the third quarter worth $224,000. Finally, Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC now owns 14,579 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after acquiring an additional 2,230 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock traded up $1.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $136.85. 6,609,563 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,011,769. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $141.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.50. The company has a market capitalization of $117.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.01. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.90 and a fifty-two week high of $192.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.76%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 94.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $154.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.55.

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.