Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Sells 24,396 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC trimmed its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 26.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 69,043 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 24,396 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $6,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV now owns 11,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Westbourne Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Westbourne Investments Inc. now owns 7,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,670 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 698 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peoples Financial Services CORP. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 4,030 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered United Parcel Service from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.50.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:UPS opened at $105.29 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $104.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.47. The stock has a market cap of $89.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. 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.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.05. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. United Parcel Service’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 106.15%.

United Parcel Service Company 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.