Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Sells 112 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC decreased its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,732 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 112 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MWA Asset Management bought a new stake in United Parcel Service during the third quarter worth about $2,125,000. Chesapeake Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 7,886 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,571,000. Telos Capital Management Inc. increased its position in United Parcel Service by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,337 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,587,000 after buying an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,354,781 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,082,594,000 after buying an additional 357,974 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPS has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 21st. UBS Group upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.9 %

UPS opened at $148.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.25. The company has a market capitalization of $126.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.68 and a 1-year high of $197.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.01. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.46% and a net margin of 7.37%. The company had revenue of $24.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.62 EPS. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.28 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.39%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto purchased 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,220. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by 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.