Empower Advisory Group LLC Raises Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 804,971 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 96,325 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned about 0.09% of United Parcel Service worth $109,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. Natixis acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the first quarter valued at about $121,000. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 26.4% in the third quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 3,835 shares during the period. Financial Partners Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 23.9% in the second quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 26,319 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,602,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069 shares during the period. Finally, Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 71.8% in the second quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. now owns 14,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,988,000 after purchasing an additional 6,073 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on UPS. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $168.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.52.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS opened at $130.17 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.12 and a 52-week high of $163.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $132.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.01. The company has a market cap of $111.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.99.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.01%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.49%.

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.