Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 1,344 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Essex Financial Services Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,807 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,344 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,989,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,921 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after purchasing an additional 373,202 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 14,539,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after purchasing an additional 380,229 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on UPS shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Baird R W lowered United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE UPS opened at $114.49 on Wednesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.40 and a 12 month high of $158.95. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.16. 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 company has a market capitalization of $97.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.73%. 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 (DPR) is currently 96.45%.

United Parcel Service Company 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.