Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases 390 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,640 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 390 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $7,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 223,259 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,799,000 after purchasing an additional 14,387 shares during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 16,612 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,589,000 after acquiring an additional 5,650 shares during the period. Oak Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 7.8% in the third quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 2,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the third quarter worth approximately $274,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UPS. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Argus lowered United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays cut 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 research report on Wednesday, January 31st. TheStreet raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.2 %

UPS stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Monday, hitting $146.68. The company had a trading volume of 2,073,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,192,927. The business has a 50-day moving average of $149.38 and a 200-day moving average of $150.56. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $133.68 and a one year high of $192.98. The stock has a market cap of $125.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 94.49%.

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.