Walker Financial Services Inc. Sells 306 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Walker Financial Services Inc. decreased its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,910 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 306 shares during the quarter. United Parcel Service makes up about 0.1% of Walker Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Walker Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,080,170,000 after acquiring an additional 373,202 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after acquiring an additional 380,229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UPS. Citigroup decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America raised United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research raised United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE UPS opened at $129.77 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $128.95 and its 200-day moving average is $130.93. The firm has a market cap of $110.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.56 and a 12-month high of $161.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.49%.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.