Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Increases Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,771 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 4.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after purchasing an additional 33,989 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $1,305,000. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on UPS shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE:UPS opened at $116.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $124.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.86. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.04%.

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.