United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,058 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 498 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 4.3% during 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 United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in 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 worth $232,959,000 after buying an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,305,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UPS. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of UPS stock opened at $116.00 on Tuesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.32. The stock has a market cap of $99.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.04%.

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.