United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Acquired by Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 129.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,432 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,937 shares during the quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UPS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,218,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,568,798,000 after acquiring an additional 178,394 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,854,180,000 after acquiring an additional 8,475,698 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,607,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,510,517,000 after acquiring an additional 980,317 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth about $1,128,322,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 6.5% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,671,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $991,556,000 after acquiring an additional 406,248 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Johnson purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $128.61 per share, for a total transaction of $643,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $663,627.60. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of UPS opened at $129.65 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.12 and a fifty-two week high of $172.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $134.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.45. The company has a market cap of $110.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.20). United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.27% and a net margin of 5.87%. The business had revenue of $21.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. United Parcel Service’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Baird R W raised shares of United Parcel Service to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $175.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $151.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.00.

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.