State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 9,970 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,611 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 9,970 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $11,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Cigna Investments Inc. New increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.0% in the third quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,717,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Gleason Group Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.2% in the third quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,576 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 4,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $612,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UPS. Robert W. Baird cut United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.73.

Insider Activity

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 sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 1.4 %

UPS stock opened at $113.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $96.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.98. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $126.84 and a 200-day moving average of $129.57.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.78%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.45%.

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.