Keystone Financial Planning Inc. Sells 81 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Keystone Financial Planning Inc. reduced its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,254 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. United Parcel Service comprises about 1.8% of Keystone Financial Planning Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Keystone Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $5,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after purchasing an additional 33,989 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after buying an additional 6,941 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after buying an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 26.4% during the third quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,503,000 after buying an additional 3,835 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,919,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $367,300,000 after acquiring an additional 685,259 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service 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 sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock traded up $1.44 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $124.72. 4,189,882 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,154,545. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.00. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.56 and a fifty-two week high of $161.35.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.49%.

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.