Royal Fund Management LLC Purchases 2,154 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Royal Fund Management LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,144 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,154 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 69.5% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 239 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS stock traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $146.43. 2,039,256 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,606,672. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $124.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.68 and a 52-week high of $192.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $149.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.67.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.49%.

About United Parcel Service

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.