79,297 Shares in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Bought by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 79,297 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,999,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after buying an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 284.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,569,831 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $351,681,000 after buying an additional 1,901,914 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $282,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851,900 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $129.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.56 and a fifty-two week high of $161.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $110.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 98.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.10.

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.