WASHINGTON TRUST Co Cuts Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co cut its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,176 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 581 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 397.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 214 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 232.3% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 720.0% in the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 408.2% in the third quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 249 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.6 %

United Parcel Service stock opened at $116.37 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.40 and a 1-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 stock has a market cap of $99.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $124.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.78.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. 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. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.64%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.45%.

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.