Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Has $4.83 Million Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,302 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 4,563 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $4,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 239.1% in the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 37,632 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,716,000 after acquiring an additional 26,534 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 27,326 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,446,000 after purchasing an additional 5,752 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in United Parcel Service by 71.8% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 129,683 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,353,000 after purchasing an additional 54,182 shares during the last quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 73,046 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,211,000 after buying an additional 6,610 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 160.6% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,572 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,125,000 after buying an additional 29,934 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UPS shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Argus upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $113.20 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average of $125.95 and a 200-day moving average of $129.24. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $109.40 and a one year high of $158.95. The company has a market cap of $96.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 96.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

About United Parcel Service

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.