Aspiriant LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Aspiriant LLC lessened its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,641 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 302 shares during the quarter. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sei Investments Co. increased its position 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 worth $41,875,000 after purchasing an additional 26,238 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in United Parcel Service by 16.5% during the second quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 9.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 101,427 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,880,000 after buying an additional 8,766 shares during the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.5% in the second quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 2,084 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 76.4% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 28,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPS has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE UPS opened at $132.96 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $128.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.83. The company has a market capitalization of $113.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.