Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires Shares of 21,818 United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 21,818 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,986,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 87.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,854,180,000 after buying an additional 8,475,698 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 208.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,717,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $270,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160,005 shares during the period. Spirepoint Private Client LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the first quarter valued at about $160,787,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the first quarter worth about $100,176,000. Finally, Interval Partners LP bought a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter worth about $90,099,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William R. Johnson bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $128.61 per share, for a total transaction of $643,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $663,627.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UPS. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $175.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $169.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.68.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:UPS opened at $130.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.62. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.12 and a 52-week high of $163.82. The company has a market cap of $111.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued 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 return on equity of 35.27% and a net margin of 5.87%. The business had revenue of $21.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.54 earnings per share. United Parcel Service’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.99%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 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.