Inspire Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Key Points

• Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service, purchasing 27,770 shares valued at approximately $3,054,000 in the first quarter.
• United Parcel Service reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.49, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.38, along with a revenue of $21.50 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 with a dividend yield of 6.33%, and its current payout ratio stands at 95.63%.

Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 27,770 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $3,054,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UPS. Gallacher Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the first quarter valued at approximately $620,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 61.3% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,576 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 5.9% during the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the first quarter valued at approximately $437,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on UPS shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $124.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Canada dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. HSBC cut United Parcel Service from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bernstein Bank increased their price target on United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $113.38.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE UPS traded down $1.72 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $89.12. 12,308,799 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,103,861. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.15 and a 12 month high of $145.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $75.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.21.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.90 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 6.44%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.36%. United Parcel Service's payout ratio is 95.63%.

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.