Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 68.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,937 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 5,241 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cigna Investments Inc. New grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.0% in the third quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Gleason Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the third quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,576 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 4,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.2% in the third quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 7,177 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $129.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $121.56 and a 12 month high of $161.35.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 98.49%.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.10.

United Parcel Service 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.