Dover Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Dover Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,983 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 736 shares during the period. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 69.5% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 239 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UPS shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. TheStreet raised United Parcel Service from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $154.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group raised United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto acquired 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,220. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UPS traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $147.59. The company had a trading volume of 2,607,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,897,331. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.68 and a twelve month high of $192.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $125.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.90.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.42%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 94.49%.

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.