ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Key Points

• ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service (UPS) by 9.3%, acquiring 3,607 shares in the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 42,300 shares worth approximately $4.27 million.
• Several institutional investors made significant changes to their positions in UPS, with Brighton Jones LLC boosting its stake by 63.8% during the fourth quarter.
• United Parcel Service recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, representing an annualized yield of 7.7% and a payout ratio of 97.62%.

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,300 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,607 shares during the period. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC's holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $4,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter worth $620,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 61.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,576 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter worth $437,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In related news, Director William R. Johnson bought 5,000 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $86.50 per share, with a total value of $432,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,160 shares of the company's stock, valued at $878,840. This represents a 96.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Carol B. Tome bought 11,682 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $85.67 per share, with a total value of $1,000,796.94. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,117,591.06. This represents a 89.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 17,182 shares of company stock valued at $1,477,382 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS stock traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $84.14. 18,090,067 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,575,006. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $71.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.00 and a 52-week high of $145.01. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $89.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.81.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.90 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 39.61%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.79 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UPS shares. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $114.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $124.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down from $125.00) on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.44.

United Parcel Service 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.