Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC Cuts Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC cut its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 95.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,259 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 52,059 shares during the quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 335,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,716,000 after purchasing an additional 61,360 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,381,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 4,369 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 131,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $17,872,000 after acquiring an additional 2,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 29,851 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,070,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of UPS stock opened at $116.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $99.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.40 and a 1-year high of $158.95. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.38.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share 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 last year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on UPS. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird cut shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.09.

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.