MWA Asset Management Sells 7,599 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

MWA Asset Management cut its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 60.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,978 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 7,599 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.4% in the second quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.0% during the third quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Gleason Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,496 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $889,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 15,837 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,167,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horan Capital Advisors LLC. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Horan Capital Advisors LLC. now owns 23,029 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,152,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $133.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $113.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.99. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.12 and a 1-year high of $163.82. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.41. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. United Parcel Service’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UPS. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.52.

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.