Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 986,238 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 30,442 shares during the period. United Parcel Service makes up about 1.4% of Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $82,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Europe Ltd lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 110.1% during the 2nd quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Europe Ltd now owns 250 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Salzhauer Michael purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 76.5% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 376 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 284.1% during the third quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 434 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 25,014 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.15, for a total value of $2,655,236.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UPS. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Evercore boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $94.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen upped their target price on United Parcel Service from $101.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings raised United Parcel Service from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.67.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.6%

UPS opened at $97.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market cap of $82.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.08. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.00 and a twelve month high of $122.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $110.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $24.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.91 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 38.30%. United Parcel Service’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.