Cornerstone Capital Inc. Acquires 820 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Cornerstone Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 24.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,152 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Cornerstone Capital Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MWA Asset Management bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the third quarter valued at about $2,125,000. Chesapeake Wealth Management increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.3% during the third quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 7,886 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 387,381 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,908,000 after buying an additional 44,721 shares during the last quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 58,184 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,148,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.0% during the third quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,337 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,587,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In related news, Director Eva C. Boratto bought 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $142.30 per share, for a total transaction of $199,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,220. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UPS shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $154.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $154.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS stock opened at $147.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $149.56 and a 200-day moving average of $150.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.68 and a 12 month high of $192.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.05.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. United Parcel Service’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.42%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 94.49%.

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.