Central Bank & Trust Co. Sells 1,673 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Central Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 29.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,989 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,673 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 12.0% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 14,352 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,738 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,933,000 after buying an additional 11,537 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 9.4% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 306,009 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $41,875,000 after buying an additional 26,238 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 12.2% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 169,903 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $23,251,000 after acquiring an additional 18,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in United Parcel Service by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Argus upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.10.

Insider Activity

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of UPS stock opened at $129.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $110.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.00. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $121.56 and a 1 year high of $161.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $128.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.87.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.02%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.49%.

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.