Beacon Financial Advisory LLC Reduces Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC reduced its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,056 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,352 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cigna Investments Inc. New lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% in the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Gleason Group Inc. grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.2% in the third quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,576 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 4,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of UPS opened at $111.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.40 and a 52 week high of $158.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $127.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.86%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.