FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Boosts Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 29.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,445 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 789 shares during the period. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,035,313,000 after acquiring an additional 613,409 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,080,170,000 after purchasing an additional 373,202 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,994,853,000 after purchasing an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after buying an additional 380,229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Argus raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Susquehanna raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 Stock Down 0.1 %

United Parcel Service stock opened at $129.77 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $129.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.97. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.56 and a 1-year high of $161.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 98.49%.

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.