Ballentine Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Ballentine Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,664 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $2,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 334 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Gleason Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $999,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.7% during the first quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 9,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,480,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.5% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 15,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:UPS traded up $1.29 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $137.89. The company had a trading volume of 292,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,996,898. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $142.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.01. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $132.90 and a one year high of $192.98.

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

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.73%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 94.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $154.00 price target on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. HSBC raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.95.

United Parcel Service Company 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.