Old Port Advisors Decreases Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Old Port Advisors lowered its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,342 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Old Port Advisors’ holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,994,853,000 after buying an additional 14,539,321 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 284.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,569,831 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $351,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,901,914 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in United Parcel Service by 833.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $282,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851,900 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,921 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $125.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 621,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,201,786. 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 12-month low of $122.01 and a 12-month high of $161.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $131.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.75. The company has a market cap of $106.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.20%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on UPS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.10.

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.