Adams Asset Advisors LLC Increases Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Adams Asset Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 137.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,769 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,584 shares during the quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $5,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,064,000 after buying an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 26.4% in the third quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after buying an additional 3,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,919,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $367,300,000 after buying an additional 685,259 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $124.08. The company had a trading volume of 3,456,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,066,792. The stock has a market cap of $105.89 billion, a PE ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.00. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.56 and a 1-year high of $161.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.25%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.