Operose Advisors LLC Sells 249 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Operose Advisors LLC cut its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 43.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 318 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 249 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $40,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,075,393,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth $393,680,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in United Parcel Service by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,384,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484,452 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $397,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,337,058 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on UPS shares. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on United Parcel Service in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.32.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $96.50 on Wednesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.55 and a 1-year high of $153.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $111.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.47. The company has a market cap of $82.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. 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 6.80%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

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.