Blue Chip Partners LLC Sells 1,399 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Blue Chip Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,602 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,399 shares during the quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $282,783,000 after buying an additional 1,851,900 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after buying an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the third 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 period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 5,136.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,079,964 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $147,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,339 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of UPS opened at $116.37 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $124.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share 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 dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.64%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.45%.

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.