United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 924,645 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 176,672 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $145,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UPS. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 69.5% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 239 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus downgraded United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday. Barclays dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.23.

Insider Activity

In other United Parcel Service news, Director Eva C. Boratto bought 1,400 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $142.30 per share, for a total transaction of $199,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,220. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $147.59 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $133.68 and a one year high of $192.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $149.56 and a 200-day moving average of $150.96. The company has a market capitalization of $125.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.42%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.49%.

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.