Associated Banc Corp Acquires 6,675 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Associated Banc Corp lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 9.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 79,845 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 6,675 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $8,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 63.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,126 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after buying an additional 4,723 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $336,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $596,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 391,291 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,308,000 after purchasing an additional 64,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 89,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,254,000 after purchasing an additional 6,157 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on UPS shares. Stifel Canada cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $124.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bernstein Bank upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $133.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $110.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Parcel Service news, CEO Carol B. Tome acquired 11,682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $85.67 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,796.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,117,591.06. The trade was a 89.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William R. Johnson acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $86.50 per share, for a total transaction of $432,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 10,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $878,840. This trade represents a 96.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:UPS opened at $84.96 on Tuesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.28 and a 52 week high of $145.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $99.11 and a 200 day moving average of $105.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.12.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.90 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.61% and a net margin of 6.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.7%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.62%.

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.