Vicus Capital Purchases Shares of 3,102 United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Vicus Capital purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,102 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $461,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Chesapeake Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 7,886 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 387,381 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,908,000 after buying an additional 44,721 shares during the period. CapWealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 58,184 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,148,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,676,441 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $578,053,000 after purchasing an additional 200,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,410,000. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $136.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,609,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,011,769. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.90 and a twelve month high of $192.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $141.71 and a 200-day moving average of $148.56. The stock has a market cap of $117.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.01. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. United Parcel Service’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 94.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $154.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.55.

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.