United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Herold Advisors Inc.

Herold Advisors Inc. cut its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,449 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 901 shares during the period. Herold Advisors Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 69.5% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 239 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In related news, Director Eva C. Boratto bought 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $142.30 per share, for a total transaction of $199,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,220. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.1 %

United Parcel Service stock opened at $147.53 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $133.68 and a one year high of $192.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. United Parcel Service’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, HSBC raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Company 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.