Sky Investment Group LLC Lowers Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Sky Investment Group LLC reduced its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 33,774 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,476 shares during the period. Sky Investment Group LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $4,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 6,225 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $785,000 after buying an additional 2,401 shares in the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 8,264 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC now owns 28,917 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,646,000 after purchasing an additional 7,372 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,329 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $607,000. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on UPS shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $129.77 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.56 and a 12-month high of $161.35. The company has a market cap of $110.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.87.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. United Parcel Service’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.