United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS Shares Sold by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 37.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,043 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 20,511 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of UPS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 63.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,126 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after buying an additional 4,723 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 46.0% in the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 5,934 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,871 shares during the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the first quarter worth $1,442,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 301.3% during the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 63,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,929,000 after purchasing an additional 47,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service in the first quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UPS. Truist Financial reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $96.00 target price (down previously from $125.00) on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Galvan Research cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.38.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

NYSE:UPS opened at $82.97 on Monday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $82.00 and a one year high of $145.01. The stock has a market cap of $70.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $85.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.22.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.90 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.61% and a net margin of 6.34%.United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 97.62%.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, Director William R. Johnson acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $86.50 per share, with a total value of $432,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $878,840. This trade represents a 96.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Carol B. Tome bought 11,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $85.67 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,796.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,117,591.06. The trade was a 89.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 17,182 shares of company stock worth $1,477,382. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.