Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 6,649 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,077 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 6,649 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $8,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,213,699,000 after acquiring an additional 370,705 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 1,337,058 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,979,695,000 after acquiring an additional 414,710 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,895,828 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,373,964,000 after purchasing an additional 268,278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Baird R W downgraded United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.70.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $96.27 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $110.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.55 and a fifty-two week high of $153.42.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 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.