Alps Advisors Inc. Sells 42,360 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Alps Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 273,463 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 42,360 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $27,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Westbourne Investments Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Westbourne Investments Inc. now owns 7,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,670 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 698 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 4,030 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Argyle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 27,505 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,728,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 5.2%

UPS stock opened at $108.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $103.03 and a 200-day moving average of $104.03. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.00 and a fifty-two week high of $122.41.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.99 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 5.94%.United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 106.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Susquehanna boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut United Parcel Service from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.50.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.