Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Sells 3,487 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 40,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 3,487 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $6,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,889,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,456,055,000 after buying an additional 628,944 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,280,190,000 after acquiring an additional 14,410,073 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 31.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,677,202 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,508,385,000 after acquiring an additional 2,331,875 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,411,989 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,311,177,000 after purchasing an additional 31,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,456,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,006,389,000 after purchasing an additional 142,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Raymond James dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded United Parcel Service from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

NYSE:UPS traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $147.59. 2,607,558 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,897,331. The business has a 50 day moving average of $149.56 and a 200 day moving average of $150.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.68 and a 1-year high of $192.98. The company has a market capitalization of $125.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.05.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.42%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto purchased 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $142.30 per share, for a total transaction of $199,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,220. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.