Moody National Bank Trust Division Raises Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS – Get Rating) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,503 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coston McIsaac & Partners purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 334.1% during the 2nd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 178 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, First Community Trust NA increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 65.8% during the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 199 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UPS. Exane BNP Paribas downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 30th. Susquehanna raised their target price on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on United Parcel Service from $196.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on United Parcel Service from $181.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.54.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of UPS stock traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $186.79. The company had a trading volume of 20,535,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,207,876. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.87 and a 12-month high of $223.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $160.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $183.09 and a 200-day moving average of $178.42.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $3.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.59 by $0.03. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 66.10% and a net margin of 11.51%. The company had revenue of $27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.59 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 11.5 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.52. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 49.09%.

United Parcel Service announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 31st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other news, CFO Brian Newman sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.46, for a total transaction of $3,466,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,130,585.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 20,724 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.26, for a total transaction of $3,777,156.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian Newman sold 19,000 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.46, for a total transaction of $3,466,740.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,130,585.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,341 shares of company stock worth $9,848,061 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About United Parcel Service

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United Parcel Service, Inc is a package delivery company, which engages in the provision of global supply chain management solutions. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain Solutions. The U.S. Domestic Package segment includes time-definite delivery of letters, documents, and packages.