United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $4,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the third 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 period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $282,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 1,320,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 5,136.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,079,964 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $147,242,000 after buying an additional 1,059,339 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’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 owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a 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 lowered 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 issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $114.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $125.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.06.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 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 paid a $1.64 dividend. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.45%.

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.