Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 1,675 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 115,942 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,675 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $14,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $458,000. Trust Investment Advisors boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 7,119 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Summitry LLC grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 33,638 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,242,000 after buying an additional 3,196 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $160,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 423,026 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $53,344,000 after purchasing an additional 60,102 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.91.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:UPS opened at $110.94 on Thursday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.68. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $109.40 and a one year high of $154.29. The firm has a market cap of $94.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share 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 last year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.91%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

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.