Mechanics Bank Trust Department Lowers Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department lessened its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,211 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 213 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 232.3% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 397.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 214 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 408.2% in the third quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 249 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its position in United Parcel Service by 720.0% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in United Parcel Service in the third quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.10.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $129.77 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $110.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $121.56 and a one year high of $161.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $128.95 and its 200 day moving average is $130.90.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

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

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.