United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS Stake Lowered by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,132,359 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 80,266 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.49% of United Parcel Service worth $409,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealthquest Corp bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,167,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 58,935 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,847,000 after purchasing an additional 10,302 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,318 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $865,000. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $99.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $101.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.50.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $101.12 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $85.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.00 and a 12-month high of $122.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.84.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.99 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 5.94%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 106.15%.

United Parcel Service Profile

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.