Baillie Gifford & Co. Acquires 31,896 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 5th, 2023

Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS – Get Rating) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 781,474 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,896 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $135,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Coston McIsaac & Partners bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Piershale Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, First Community Trust NA increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 65.8% during the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 199 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 1.6 %

UPS opened at $190.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.87 and a fifty-two week high of $209.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $185.14 and its 200 day moving average is $177.78. The stock has a market cap of $163.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.09.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.59 by $0.03. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 66.10%. The company had revenue of $27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.59 EPS. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 49.09%.

United Parcel Service announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 31st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on UPS shares. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $210.00 to $207.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $220.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Monday, March 20th. Melius started coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Monday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Cowen raised their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $219.00 to $212.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.22.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In related news, CFO Brian Newman sold 19,000 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.46, for a total transaction of $3,466,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 11,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,130,585.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 20,724 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.26, for a total value of $3,777,156.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brian Newman sold 19,000 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.46, for a total transaction of $3,466,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,677 shares in the company, valued at $2,130,585.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,341 shares of company stock worth $9,848,061. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Parcel Service Profile

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United Parcel Service, Inc is a package delivery company, which engages in the provision of global supply chain management solutions. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain Solutions. The U.S. Domestic Package segment includes time-definite delivery of letters, documents, and packages.