Palouse Capital Management Inc. Buys 17,297 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 103.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,096 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,297 shares during the period. United Parcel Service comprises 2.6% of Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,304,000 after purchasing an additional 28,108 shares during the period. PUREfi Wealth LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth approximately $737,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its position in United Parcel Service by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 11,427 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the period. CapWealth Advisors LLC raised its position in United Parcel Service by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 83,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,577,000 after acquiring an additional 3,312 shares during the period. Finally, LaFleur & Godfrey LLC raised its position in United Parcel Service by 62.8% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 6,225 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $785,000 after acquiring an additional 2,401 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on UPS. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $113.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.26.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS opened at $99.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.49 and a 200 day moving average of $112.84. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.55 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.11. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. The business had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.57%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 95.63%.

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.