Cape Investment Advisory Inc. Boosts Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,669 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 69.5% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 239 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on UPS. Robert W. Baird raised United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Argus downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $154.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UPS traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $138.66. The stock had a trading volume of 2,995,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,760,187. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.85. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.68 and a 1-year high of $192.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. The business’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 94.49%.

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.