United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Acquired by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council grew its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 2.3% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,586,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 2.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,058 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 0.7% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 42,132 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,567,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 23.4% in the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 7,789 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 7.3% in the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 11,954 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Parcel Service news, Director Eva C. Boratto bought 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,220. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $146.61 on Thursday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.68 and a 1 year high of $192.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $149.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.03. The firm has a market cap of $125.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. United Parcel Service’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UPS shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $150.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.96.

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.