Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Purchases 3,626 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 25,314 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 3,626 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,064,000 after acquiring an additional 33,989 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth $1,305,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on UPS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Argus upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $116.37 on Tuesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $158.95. The stock has a market cap of $99.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $124.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

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

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.