MCF Advisors LLC Has $127,000 Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

MCF Advisors LLC decreased its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,006 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 108 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,064,000 after buying an additional 33,989 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at $1,305,000. Finally, Cohen Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 3,835 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.2 %

United Parcel Service stock opened at $132.59 on Thursday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.56 and a fifty-two week high of $161.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $128.97 and its 200-day moving average is $130.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.38.

United Parcel Service 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.