Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Sells 3,036 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. trimmed its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 3,036 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after acquiring an additional 613,409 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after acquiring an additional 373,202 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,448,960,000 after acquiring an additional 380,229 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:UPS opened at $114.25 on Thursday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $109.40 and a one year high of $158.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.45%.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Argus upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.73.

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.