Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp Trims Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp reduced its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,830 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 850 shares during the period. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 833.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $282,783,000 after buying an additional 1,851,900 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 77.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $397,329,000 after buying an additional 1,378,136 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,919,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $367,300,000 after purchasing an additional 685,259 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on UPS shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $119.10 on Thursday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.40 and a 52 week high of $158.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.88. The company has a market cap of $101.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.51%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.04%.

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.