American National Bank & Trust Co. VA Makes New Investment in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

American National Bank & Trust Co. VA acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,485 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $815,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UPS. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,280,190,000 after acquiring an additional 14,410,073 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 87.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,854,180,000 after purchasing an additional 8,475,698 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth $1,128,322,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 208.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,717,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $270,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160,005 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,607,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,510,517,000 after purchasing an additional 980,317 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Susquehanna lifted their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on United Parcel Service in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.55.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UPS traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $135.55. 1,539,867 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,015,156. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $132.90 and a 12-month high of $192.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $115.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $141.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.03.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. United Parcel Service’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 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.