2,310 Shares in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Purchased by Hickory Point Bank & Trust

Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,310 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,035,313,000 after purchasing an additional 613,409 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after buying an additional 1,320,921 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after buying an additional 373,202 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after purchasing an additional 380,229 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 6.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,639,272 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $632,518,000 after buying an additional 292,777 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

NYSE:UPS opened at $118.97 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $122.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.08. The company has a market cap of $101.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.40 and a 52-week high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

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.