Lincoln National Corp Sells 253 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Lincoln National Corp reduced its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,936 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 253 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 24.2% during the 4th 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. grew 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 worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dfpg Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE UPS traded down $0.93 on Wednesday, reaching $146.16. 474,500 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,141,640. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $133.68 and a one year high of $192.98. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. Analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 94.49%.

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.