Physicians Financial Services Inc. Cuts Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Physicians Financial Services Inc. lowered its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,460 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,437 shares during the quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,035,313,000 after purchasing an additional 613,409 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,989,609,000 after buying an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,080,170,000 after acquiring an additional 373,202 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after acquiring an additional 380,229 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $116.55 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.40. The company has a market cap of $99.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.63%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

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.