Martin Capital Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Martin Capital Partners LLC lessened its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,160 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 351 shares during the quarter. United Parcel Service comprises approximately 2.1% of Martin Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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. grew its holdings in shares of 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 grew its holdings in shares of 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. grew its holdings in shares of 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 holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,895,828 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,373,964,000 after buying an additional 268,278 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of UPS stock opened at $102.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $86.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $97.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.42. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.55 and a 1-year high of $148.15.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.11. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. The business had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 95.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UPS shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.26.

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.