Cladis Investment Advisory LLC Grows Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Cladis Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 30.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,716 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,701 shares during the quarter. United Parcel Service comprises approximately 1.2% of Cladis Investment Advisory LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,136,226 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,274,323,000 after buying an additional 999,832 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,045,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,754,751,000 after buying an additional 1,780,807 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 124.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,011,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $991,132,000 after buying an additional 4,988,044 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,415,523 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $815,633,000 after buying an additional 23,918 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,463,930 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $815,102,000 after buying an additional 1,064,293 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on UPS. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $113.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Redburn Atlantic lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $137.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $127.00 to $114.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $140.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.81.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.0%

UPS stock opened at $88.52 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.73. The company has a market capitalization of $75.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.28 and a 12 month high of $145.01.

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

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.4%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William R. Johnson acquired 5,000 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $86.50 per share, for a total transaction of $432,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $878,840. The trade was a 96.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Carol B. Tome acquired 11,682 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $85.67 per share, with a total value of $1,000,796.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,117,591.06. This trade represents a 89.61% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.