Ancora Advisors LLC Acquires 9,897 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) by 213.0% in the first quarter, accumulating a total of 14,544 shares worth approximately $1.6 million.
• Company insiders have recently acquired significant shares, with Director William R. Johnson and CEO Carol B. Tome buying a combined total of 16,682 shares valued at over $1.4 million, representing substantial increases in their ownership.
• United Parcel Service declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, yielding about 7.8%, with a payout ratio of 97.62%.

Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 213.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,544 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,897 shares during the quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted 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 valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 4,723 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 50,205 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217 shares during the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at $276,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 278,681 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,142,000 after purchasing an additional 16,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 107.7% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 5,179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UPS. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $114.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. BNP Paribas raised United Parcel Service to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.6%

UPS stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $84.96. The stock had a trading volume of 8,580,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,905,999. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $72.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $93.18 and a 200 day moving average of $99.96. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $83.67 and a 1-year high of $145.01.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.90 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 39.61%. The business's revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.7%. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.