Institute for Wealth Management LLC. Lowers Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Institute for Wealth Management LLC. cut its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 21.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,234 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,763 shares during the quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after purchasing an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in 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 worth $282,783,000 after buying an additional 1,851,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 5,136.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,079,964 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $147,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,339 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UPS shares. Robert W. Baird cut shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Argus upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.00.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 14.1 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $114.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $98.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.62 and a 1 year high of $158.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $129.05 and a 200 day moving average of $130.72.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 98.49%.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by 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.