25,170 Shares in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS Acquired by North Dakota State Investment Board

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 25,170 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,497,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Coston McIsaac & Partners raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 77.8% in the 4th quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 272 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 76.5% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 376 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 37.3% in the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 456 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 144.3% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 408 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UPS. Evercore dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. HSBC raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.87.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $95.68 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.70. The company has a market cap of $81.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.00 and a fifty-two week high of $122.41.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.05. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 106.15%.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.