ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 284.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,569,831 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $351,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901,914 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $282,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,989,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,921 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the 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 owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on UPS shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of UPS stock opened at $129.77 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $121.56 and a one year high of $161.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $128.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.87. The company has a market capitalization of $110.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.00.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid 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 5.02%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 98.49%.

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.