Stephens Inc. AR Has $16.76 Million Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 20.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,888 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 30,763 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $16,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Cigna Investments Inc. New raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Gleason Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,496 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $889,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Rogco LP raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Rogco LP now owns 4,206 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Paulson Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,743 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on UPS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Baird R W upgraded shares of United Parcel Service to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.71.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

NYSE:UPS opened at $134.05 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.12 and a 1-year high of $163.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.99.

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

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 98.49%.

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.