American Trust Has $319,000 Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

American Trust reduced its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS – Get Rating) by 56.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,976 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,610 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coston McIsaac & Partners acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 334.1% during the 2nd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 178 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 276 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $186.79 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.87 and a 12 month high of $223.97.

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

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.52. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 49.09%.

United Parcel Service declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 31st that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on UPS. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $181.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Exane BNP Paribas lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 30th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 30th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $210.00 to $207.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, CFO Brian Newman sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.46, for a total transaction of $3,466,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,130,585.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 20,724 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.26, for a total transaction of $3,777,156.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Brian Newman sold 19,000 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.46, for a total transaction of $3,466,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,677 shares in the company, valued at $2,130,585.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,341 shares of company stock worth $9,848,061. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Parcel Service Profile

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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.