Focus Partners Wealth Cuts Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Focus Partners Wealth lessened its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 385,838 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 39,074 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $42,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,136,226 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,274,323,000 after purchasing an additional 999,832 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 7.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,045,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,754,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780,807 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 124.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,011,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $991,132,000 after purchasing an additional 4,988,044 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.3% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,415,523 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $815,633,000 after purchasing an additional 23,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,719,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $519,059,000 after purchasing an additional 171,303 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.6%

United Parcel Service stock opened at $83.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.08. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.05 and a fifty-two week high of $145.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $92.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.41.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.90 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 39.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. Analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 97.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In related news, Director Christiana Smith Shi acquired 500 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.17 per share, for a total transaction of $44,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,085. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Carol B. Tome acquired 11,682 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $85.67 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,796.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,117,591.06. This represents a 89.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 17,182 shares of company stock valued at $1,477,382. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UPS. Vertical Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $124.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane raised United Parcel Service from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $114.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised United Parcel Service from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.59.

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.