148,265 Shares in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS Acquired by Townsend & Associates Inc

Townsend & Associates Inc purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 148,265 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,812,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 63.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,126 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 4,723 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4,192.3% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 1st quarter valued at about $757,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 213.0% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 14,544 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,600,000 after buying an additional 9,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 582.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,180,709 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $128,886,000 after buying an additional 1,007,585 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UPS. Bank of America decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of United Parcel Service to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.09.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS opened at $100.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s fifty day moving average is $96.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.87. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.00 and a 1 year high of $136.99.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The transportation company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $21.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.94 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 40.07%. The business’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.76 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 101.39%.

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.