Stableford Capital II LLC Reduces Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Stableford Capital II LLC trimmed its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,613 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 137 shares during the period. Stableford Capital II LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $282,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the 3rd 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 5,136.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,079,964 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $147,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,339 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS opened at $114.19 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.00. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.62 and a 52-week high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.71%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Baird R W cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.95.

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.