Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,603 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,977 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $282,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851,900 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised 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 valued at $147,242,000 after buying an additional 1,059,339 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.2 %

UPS stock opened at $113.20 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $125.95 and a 200-day moving average of $129.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $109.40 and a one year high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced 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 return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.80%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several 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 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Profile

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.