United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Granite Investment Partners LLC

Granite Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 38.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,446 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 4,012 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,218,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,568,798,000 after purchasing an additional 178,394 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,854,180,000 after buying an additional 8,475,698 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.5% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,671,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $991,556,000 after acquiring an additional 406,248 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in United Parcel Service by 0.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,490,712 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $888,254,000 after acquiring an additional 20,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 10.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,144,372 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $567,157,000 after acquiring an additional 393,434 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UPS shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen began coverage on United Parcel Service in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $169.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Parcel Service news, Director William R. Johnson purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $128.61 per share, for a total transaction of $643,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $663,627.60. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE:UPS opened at $128.63 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.12 and a twelve month high of $163.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.99.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $21.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.27% and a net margin of 5.87%. United Parcel Service’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.49%.

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.