United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC decreased its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 37.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,445 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 12,827 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UPS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,213,699,000 after buying an additional 370,705 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,933,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,979,695,000 after acquiring an additional 414,710 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,384,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,895,828 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,373,964,000 after acquiring an additional 268,278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on UPS. Bank of America dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. StockNews.com downgraded United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.41.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 1.0 %

UPS opened at $96.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.55 and a 12 month high of $153.42.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.77%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

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.