Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Reduces Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 37.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,445 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 12,827 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,213,699,000 after buying an additional 370,705 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,979,695,000 after buying an additional 414,710 shares in the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 1,484,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 1.0 %

UPS opened at $96.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $108.22 and its 200-day moving average is $121.14. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.55 and a 52-week high of $153.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 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 (EPS) 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. Analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.77%. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UPS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on United Parcel Service in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.41.

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.