Rhumbline Advisers Sells 7,429 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.5% during 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 1,365,150 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 7,429 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.16% of United Parcel Service worth $172,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,035,313,000 after purchasing an additional 613,409 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,989,609,000 after buying an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,080,170,000 after buying an additional 373,202 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after buying an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 3.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after buying an additional 380,229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of UPS stock opened at $116.37 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $124.72 and a 200 day moving average of $128.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $99.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.40 and a twelve month high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird cut United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.