Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co Buys New Shares in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 14,574 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,434,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of UPS. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 37.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,631,133 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $357,231,000 after purchasing an additional 988,442 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the first quarter. Millennium Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,545 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. CacheTech Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. CacheTech Inc. now owns 4,974 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 60,694 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,971,000 after buying an additional 4,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,084,054 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $106,649,000 after buying an additional 5,096 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting United Parcel Service

Here are the key news stories impacting United Parcel Service this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein raised its price target on UPS to $133 from $130 and reiterated an outperform rating, signaling upside confidence ahead of earnings.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect UPS to have a chance to beat upcoming quarterly earnings expectations, supported by the right mix of improving per-package revenue and cost cuts.
• Positive Sentiment: Investor focus is centered on updated guidance, and any stronger-than-expected outlook could further support the shares after recent weakness.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary notes UPS has been moving alongside broader transportation-sector earnings expectations, with traders watching for confirmation in the Q2 report. United Parcel Service Inc. Cl B stock underperforms Monday when compared to competitors
• Negative Sentiment: Recent articles also point to lower shipping volumes and pricing pressure from fuel surcharges and competition, including Amazon’s expanding delivery network, which could weigh on margins. Fuel surcharges wallop FedEx, UPS shippers as Amazon looms

United Parcel Service Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $116.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $98.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.82, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.00 and a 1 year high of $122.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $107.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.36.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.05. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 5.94%.The firm had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 106.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on UPS. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised United Parcel Service from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.50.

United Parcel Service Profile

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.