Hodges Capital Management Inc. Sells 28,717 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 84.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,188 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 28,717 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 39.7% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 108,360 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,793,000 after acquiring an additional 30,815 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 149,220 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $20,345,000 after purchasing an additional 10,227 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,680 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 43,360 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,912,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 20.3% in the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 52,392 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,143,000 after buying an additional 8,834 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of UPS stock opened at $111.26 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $128.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.16. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $109.40 and a one year high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.86%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.