Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Acquires Shares of 4,800 United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $605,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 131,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $17,872,000 after buying an additional 2,263 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 105.4% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,190 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,571,000 after purchasing an additional 13,437 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 136,914 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $18,667,000 after purchasing an additional 8,377 shares during the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,112 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,606,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seelaus Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $531,000. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on UPS shares. Baird R W cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE UPS opened at $116.90 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $120.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.38. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.40 and a 1 year high of $158.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.61%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

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.