New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 980,536 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 77,408 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.12% of United Parcel Service worth $154,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $2,756,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 24.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Gleason Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dfpg Investments LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto purchased 1,400 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,220. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE UPS traded up $3.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $148.87. 6,369,032 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,349,812. The company's 50-day moving average is $149.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.10. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $133.68 and a one year high of $197.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $126.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.05.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.14). United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.46% and a net margin of 7.37%. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. United Parcel Service's revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio is 83.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UPS. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Evercore ISI restated an "in-line" rating and set a $154.00 price target on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of United Parcel Service from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $165.61.

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.