HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 61,025 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,032,857 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 61,025 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $130,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after buying an additional 373,202 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after purchasing an additional 380,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 10,040,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,272,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277,328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 3.5 %

UPS stock opened at $116.35 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $99.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $121.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.64. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.40 and a 52 week high of $158.95.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, research 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is an increase 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 was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on UPS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on United Parcel Service in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $119.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.00.

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.