Advisors Capital Management LLC Has $40.04 Million Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service (UPS) by 31% during the first quarter, totaling approximately $40.04 million in holdings.
• Recent insider transactions included Director Christiana Smith Shi acquiring 500 shares and Director William R. Johnson purchasing 5,000 shares, indicating a significant increase in insider ownership.
• United Parcel Service reported $1.55 earnings per share for its last quarter, slightly below analysts' expectations, amid a revenue decrease of 2.7% year-over-year.

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 31.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 363,985 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 86,126 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $40,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 63.8% during the fourth 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. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 103.9% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 50,757 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,400,000 after buying an additional 25,861 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,375 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 1,842 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 108,976 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $13,736,000 after buying an additional 10,074 shares during the period. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 30,334 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,825,000 after buying an additional 5,257 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In related news, Director Christiana Smith Shi acquired 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.17 per share, with a total value of $44,085.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,085. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Johnson acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $86.50 per share, for a total transaction of $432,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $878,840. This represents a 96.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 17,182 shares of company stock valued at $1,477,382 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on UPS shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Parcel Service from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $114.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of United Parcel Service to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.59.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $83.91 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $92.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.41. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $83.05 and a 1-year high of $145.01. The company has a market cap of $71.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.08.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.01). United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.61% and a net margin of 6.34%.The business had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.79 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio is 97.62%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UPS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.