Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,958 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $5,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. IMA Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 100.0% during the second quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 142 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. 58.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on UPS. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto acquired 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $142.30 per share, for a total transaction of $199,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,220. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS traded down $1.68 during trading on Monday, hitting $151.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,626,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,166,772. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $133.68 and a one year high of $197.80. The firm has a market cap of $129.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.75.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.01. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 39.46%. The business had revenue of $24.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

United Parcel Service 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.