Archer Investment Corp Purchases 102 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Archer Investment Corp boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,464 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in United Parcel Service by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,854,180,000 after acquiring an additional 8,475,698 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,128,322,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in United Parcel Service by 208.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,717,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $270,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160,005 shares in the last quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $160,787,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,607,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,510,517,000 after buying an additional 980,317 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UPS. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $169.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Baird R W upgraded United Parcel Service to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William R. Johnson acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $128.61 per share, with a total value of $643,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $663,627.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $127.50 on Wednesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.12 and a 1 year high of $168.01. The company has a market capitalization of $109.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $132.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.20). United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 35.27%. The company had revenue of $21.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.54 EPS. United Parcel Service’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.49%.

United Parcel Service Company 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.