United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Access Financial Services Inc.

Access Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,025 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 807 shares during the quarter. Access Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UPS. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,994,853,000 after purchasing an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $351,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901,914 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the third 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 increased 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 valued at $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,989,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,921 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on UPS shares. Wolfe Research raised United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $129.77 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $128.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.90. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $121.56 and a 52 week high of $161.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.02%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.49%.

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.