Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,264 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,014 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,064,000 after purchasing an additional 33,989 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth about $1,305,000. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE:UPS opened at $113.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $96.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.25. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.40 and a 1-year high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.80%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 96.45%.

Insider Activity

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

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.