United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 14.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 552 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 95 shares during the quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $82,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.7% during the first quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 9,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,212 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.8% during the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 9,113 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,354,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE:UPS opened at $129.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.99. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.12 and a fifty-two week high of $163.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $131.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.29.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.20). United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.27% and a net margin of 5.87%. The company had revenue of $21.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William R. Johnson acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $128.61 per share, for a total transaction of $643,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $663,627.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $151.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $175.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $169.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.20.

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.