Hartford Investment Management Co. Cuts Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,110 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 873 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $5,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UPS. Cigna Investments Inc. New lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.0% during the third quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Gleason Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the third quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,576 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $897,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $114.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.40 and a 12 month high of $158.95. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. Analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.73%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.45%.

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.