Latitude Advisors LLC Sells 385 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Latitude Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,614 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 385 shares during the period. Latitude Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MWA Asset Management bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,125,000. Chesapeake Wealth Management increased its position in United Parcel Service by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 7,886 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 387,381 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,908,000 after buying an additional 44,721 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. increased its position in United Parcel Service by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,337 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,587,000 after buying an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its position in United Parcel Service by 289.9% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 60,201 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,384,000 after buying an additional 44,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto bought 1,400 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,220. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock traded down $1.96 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $142.89. The company had a trading volume of 4,197,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,529,379. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.68 and a 52 week high of $197.80.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $24.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.40 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.46% and a net margin of 7.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.56%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UPS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $154.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TheStreet upgraded United Parcel Service from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Argus downgraded United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.61.

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.