United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT reduced its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,636 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,064,000 after purchasing an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after buying an additional 6,941 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after buying an additional 1,620,091 shares during the period. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $1,305,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $116.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $99.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $123.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.40 and a 1-year high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.64%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on UPS shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

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.