DAVENPORT & Co LLC Lowers Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

DAVENPORT & Co LLC reduced its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 838,969 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 55,344 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC owned approximately 0.10% of United Parcel Service worth $83,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,277,988 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,619,730,000 after purchasing an additional 372,850 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,063,250 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,594,713,000 after purchasing an additional 288,720 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the second quarter worth $851,842,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 10.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,991,490 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $667,109,000 after buying an additional 761,217 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 17.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,724,265 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $561,678,000 after buying an additional 993,461 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 25,014 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.15, for a total value of $2,655,236.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS opened at $98.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.08. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.00 and a 52-week high of $122.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $108.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.57.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $24.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.91 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 38.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.75 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America raised United Parcel Service from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $114.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $99.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.67.

United Parcel Service 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.