United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Ledyard National Bank

Ledyard National Bank reduced its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,463 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 366 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $336,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,481 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter worth about $111,000. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 73.7% during the 1st quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,309 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 45,672 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,788,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UPS. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $151.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.05.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $131.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $112.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.19. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.12 and a 12-month high of $163.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $21.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.27% and a net margin of 5.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.54 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.44 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 106.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William R. Johnson purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $128.61 per share, for a total transaction of $643,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $663,627.60. The trade was a 3,100.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.