Hancock Whitney Corp Sells 113 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,374 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 26.4% in the third quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after buying an additional 3,835 shares during the period. Financial Partners Group LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 23.9% in the second quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 26,319 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,602,000 after buying an additional 5,069 shares during the last quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 71.8% during the 2nd quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. now owns 14,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,988,000 after acquiring an additional 6,073 shares during the period. Finally, Investors Research Corp increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 89.0% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 10,939 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 5,150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’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 value of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $135.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $115.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.99. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.12 and a 12-month high of $163.82. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $133.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.96.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced 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 net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.81%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 98.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPS has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Argus upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve 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 target price of $151.52.

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.