SevenBridge Financial Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,062 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 229 shares during the quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UPS. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 14.5% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 32,289 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,402,000 after acquiring an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 7,786 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 397.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 214 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the third quarter valued at about $2,054,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 28.4% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 17,501 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,386,000 after buying an additional 3,871 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $128.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.83.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.6 %

UPS stock opened at $109.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $93.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.18 and a twelve month high of $154.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $117.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.15.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released 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 net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.00%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.04%.

About United Parcel Service

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.