New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $80.56 Million Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 638,817 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 22,134 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $80,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UPS. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 232.3% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 397.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 214 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 408.2% during the third quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 249 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 720.0% during the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on UPS shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 1.3 %

United Parcel Service stock opened at $115.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.40 and a 52-week high of $158.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $124.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.96. The firm has a market cap of $98.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.67%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 96.45%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.