King Luther Capital Management Corp Cuts Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

King Luther Capital Management Corp lowered its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,177 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,833 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Chesapeake Wealth Management grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 7,886 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 387,381 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,908,000 after buying an additional 44,721 shares during the last quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 58,184 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,148,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,676,441 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $578,053,000 after buying an additional 200,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth $2,410,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UPS traded down $0.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $138.67. The company had a trading volume of 505,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,997,084. The company has a market cap of $118.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.68 and a 52 week high of $192.98. The business’s 50-day moving average is $148.14 and its 200 day moving average is $150.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 94.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UPS. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus lowered United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.23.

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.