United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 391 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $9,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 4.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after purchasing an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares during the period. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,305,000. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of UPS stock opened at $116.37 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. The stock has a market cap of $99.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.64%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.45%.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UPS shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Profile

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.