Cigna Investments Inc. New Buys 75 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Cigna Investments Inc. New boosted its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Cigna Investments Inc. New’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Drexel Morgan & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,965,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.4% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 69,047 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,414,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the third quarter worth approximately $3,133,000. Goldstone Financial Group LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the third quarter worth approximately $1,313,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 112.8% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 8,242 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after acquiring an additional 4,368 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $169.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.71.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS stock opened at $134.05 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.71. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.12 and a 52 week high of $163.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.99.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.86%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.49%.

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.