Sunpointe LLC Lowers Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Sunpointe LLC reduced its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,050 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 127 shares during the period. Sunpointe LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,994,853,000 after buying an additional 14,539,321 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $282,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851,900 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 5,136.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,079,964 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $147,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,339 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service 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 approximately $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $114.96 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $123.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.48. The company has a market cap of $98.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.98. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.71%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 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.