Central Bank & Trust Co. Increases Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,362 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Security National Bank bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on UPS shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $154.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.95.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $136.60. The company had a trading volume of 9,237,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,347,812. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $132.90 and a 12-month high of $192.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $142.34 and its 200-day moving average is $149.23. The company has a market capitalization of $116.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.01.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 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 business 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 firm posted $2.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.49%.

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.