State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 16,243 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS – Get Rating) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 109,396 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 16,243 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $19,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DNB Asset Management AS raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 172,833 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,045,000 after purchasing an additional 8,964 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,084 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at about $543,000. Verity & Verity LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 83,669 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,545,000 after acquiring an additional 3,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old Port Advisors grew its position in United Parcel Service by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 7,175 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Laura J. Lane sold 14,617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.16, for a total value of $2,604,164.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other United Parcel Service news, insider Laura J. Lane sold 14,617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.16, for a total value of $2,604,164.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Brian Newman sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.46, for a total transaction of $3,466,740.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,677 shares in the company, valued at $2,130,585.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,341 shares of company stock valued at $9,848,061 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.6 %

United Parcel Service stock traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $186.79. The stock had a trading volume of 20,535,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,974,106. The company has a market cap of $160.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $183.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.30. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.87 and a 52 week high of $223.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.59 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.03 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 66.10%. United Parcel Service’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 11.5 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 31st that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 49.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UPS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $195.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $197.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Monday, November 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $181.00 price target on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, Exane BNP Paribas downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.54.

United Parcel Service Profile

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United Parcel Service, Inc is a package delivery company, which engages in the provision of global supply chain management solutions. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain Solutions. The U.S. Domestic Package segment includes time-definite delivery of letters, documents, and packages.