United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Live Oak Private Wealth LLC

Live Oak Private Wealth LLC lowered its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,252 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 602 shares during the period. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $6,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in 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 buying an additional 613,409 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the third 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after purchasing an additional 373,202 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after purchasing an additional 14,539,321 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after purchasing an additional 380,229 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UPS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $113.47 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $96.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.57. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.40 and a 12 month high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.78%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 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.