Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Acquires New Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Key Points

• Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC acquired 157,200 shares of United Parcel Service (UPS) during the second quarter, valued at approximately $15.87 million.
• Recent analyst ratings for UPS show a mixed outlook, with price targets ranging from $85.00 to $120.00 and a consensus average rating of "Hold."
• UPS reported a net margin of 6.34% and earnings of $1.55 per share for the last quarter, slightly missing analyst expectations.

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 157,200 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $15,868,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Founders Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management LLC now owns 111,405 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $11,245,000 after acquiring an additional 8,579 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter worth approximately $620,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Capital CS Group LLC grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Capital CS Group LLC now owns 235,090 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $23,730,000 after acquiring an additional 8,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 39.9% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 60,165 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,073,000 after acquiring an additional 17,152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on UPS. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Vertical Research reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Parcel Service from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $113.00 to $112.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.38.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $82.97 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.45. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.00 and a 12-month high of $145.01. 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 cap of $70.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.01). United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 39.61%. The business had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.79 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.9%. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio is 97.62%.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, Director William R. Johnson purchased 5,000 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 $878,840. This trade represents a 96.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christiana Smith Shi purchased 500 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.17 per share, with a total value of $44,085.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $44,085. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 17,182 shares of company stock worth $1,477,382 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by 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.

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