Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Trims Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 76.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,162 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 7,041 shares during the quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,496,420 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,794,160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218,432 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in United Parcel Service by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,092,627 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,183,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,377 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,142,759 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,692,290,000 after purchasing an additional 856,125 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,154,091 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,703,291,000 after purchasing an additional 240,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 72.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,818,314 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,370,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,826,824 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UPS. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Stephens upgraded United Parcel Service to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.10.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $113.19 on Tuesday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.00 and a 12 month high of $122.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.24.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.99 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. 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.