Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $3.71 Million Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 37,700 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,709,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 63.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,126 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 4,723 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the second quarter worth approximately $277,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the second quarter worth approximately $848,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 342,866 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,609,000 after purchasing an additional 9,124 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 154.5% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 104,819 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,580,000 after purchasing an additional 63,629 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on UPS. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Evercore lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.50.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:UPS opened at $108.22 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $104.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.88. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.00 and a 52 week high of $122.41. The company has a market capitalization of $91.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.99 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.15%.

United Parcel Service Profile

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.