United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by West Paces Advisors Inc.

West Paces Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,409 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 947 shares during the quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aspire Private Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.3% in the first quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 18,392 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,568,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in United Parcel Service by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,840 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 334 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gleason Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto bought 1,400 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $142.30 per share, for a total transaction of $199,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,400 shares in the company, valued at $199,220. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

United Parcel Service stock traded down $1.96 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $142.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,191,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,323,472. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.68 and a fifty-two week high of $197.80. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.01. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 39.46%. The firm had revenue of $24.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.21 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 83.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.61.

United Parcel Service Company 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.