Mystic Asset Management Inc. Acquires 799 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Mystic Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 22.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,430 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,620 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 3rd quarter valued at $309,000. Verity & Verity LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 129,551 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $17,663,000 after purchasing an additional 4,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 56,641 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,723,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on UPS. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Baird R W lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS opened at $118.85 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $120.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.25. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.40 and a 1-year high of $158.95. The company has a market cap of $101.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.58, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.52%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.