FourThought Financial LLC Lowers Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

FourThought Financial LLC lessened its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS – Get Rating) by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,046 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 810 shares during the period. FourThought Financial LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 2,211 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. SkyOak Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. SkyOak Wealth LLC now owns 13,547 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,188,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Summit Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Asset Management LLC now owns 3,579 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 0.5% during the third quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 13,496 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,180,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.9% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,345 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Laura J. Lane sold 14,617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.16, for a total value of $2,604,164.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Laura J. Lane sold 14,617 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.16, for a total value of $2,604,164.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brian Newman sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.46, for a total value of $3,466,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,130,585.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,341 shares of company stock valued at $9,848,061. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $187.92 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.49. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.87 and a 52-week high of $223.97. The firm has a market cap of $161.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.59 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.03 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 66.10% and a net margin of 11.51%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.59 EPS. On average, analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 11.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 31st that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.52. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 17th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Exane BNP Paribas lowered United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on United Parcel Service from $195.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $181.00 target price on United Parcel Service in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on United Parcel Service from $181.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, December 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $197.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Monday, November 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.54.

About United Parcel Service

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United Parcel Service, Inc is a package delivery company, which engages in the provision of global supply chain management solutions. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain Solutions. The U.S. Domestic Package segment includes time-definite delivery of letters, documents, and packages.