Donoghue Forlines LLC Buys New Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Key Points

• Donoghue Forlines LLC has made a new investment of approximately $1.39 million in United Parcel Service, purchasing 12,623 shares of the company's stock.
• UPS recently reported quarterly earnings, showing an EPS of $1.55, which was slightly below the consensus estimate of $1.56, alongside a revenue decline of 2.7% year-over-year.
• United Parcel Service declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, representing a yield of 7.6% and will be paid to shareholders on September 4th.

Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 12,623 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,388,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 7,227 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the first quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.4% in the first quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,544 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $830,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,054 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diligent Investors LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 6,722 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $848,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on UPS. Vertical Research reissued a "hold" rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Redburn Atlantic dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $137.00 to $117.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Bernstein Bank upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. HSBC lowered United Parcel Service from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded United Parcel Service from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.81.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock traded up $1.32 on Tuesday, hitting $87.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,920,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,308,829. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.28 and a 1 year high of $145.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $98.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.91. The company has a market capitalization of $74.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.12.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $21.20 billion during 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%. United Parcel Service's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio is 97.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Johnson purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 10,160 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $878,840. This trade represents a 96.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Carol B. Tome acquired 11,682 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $85.67 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,796.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 24,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,117,591.06. This represents a 89.61% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.