HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 26,310 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 2.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,093,882 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 26,310 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $149,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted 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 worth $232,959,000 after buying an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 26.4% in the third quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,503,000 after buying an additional 3,835 shares in the last quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 23.9% in the second quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 26,319 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,602,000 after buying an additional 5,069 shares in the last quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 71.8% in the second quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. now owns 14,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,988,000 after buying an additional 6,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 89.0% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 10,939 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,491,000 after buying an additional 5,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UPS. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.52.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service 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 sale, 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 this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $134.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.12 and a 52-week high of $163.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $133.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.67.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.49%.

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.