Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. Lowers Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 61.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,892 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 19,236 shares during the period. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 334 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Gleason Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.5% during the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 15,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Dfpg Investments LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 25,270 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,981,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Redburn Atlantic raised United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $165.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:UPS traded up $1.58 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $147.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,031,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,230,693. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $133.68 and a one year high of $192.98. The company has a market capitalization of $125.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $149.49 and a 200 day moving average of $150.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. United Parcel Service’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.23 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.42%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.49%.

Insider Activity

In other United Parcel Service news, Director Eva C. Boratto acquired 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $142.30 per share, for a total transaction of $199,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,220. The purchase 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.

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.