United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 821,781 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 7,499 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of United Parcel Service worth $103,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UPS. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 39.7% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 108,360 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,793,000 after acquiring an additional 30,815 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the third quarter valued at about $527,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 40.2% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 103,515 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,113,000 after acquiring an additional 29,657 shares in the last quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 8.8% in the third quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA now owns 1,854 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 11.6% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,857 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,162,000 after buying an additional 1,648 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on UPS. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of UPS opened at $115.45 on Wednesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.40 and a 52-week high of $158.95. The company has a market capitalization of $98.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.67. 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.68%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.