Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC Sells 18,539 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC reduced its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,799 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 18,539 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC's holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $5,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UPS. Pacific Sage Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Gleason Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,660 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,583 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altus Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company's stock.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock traded up $1.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $96.33. The company had a trading volume of 5,686,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,948,834. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $106.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.26. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.55 and a fifty-two week high of $153.42. The firm has a market cap of $82.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.11. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. The company had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.81%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UPS. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Galvan Research reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $147.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. HSBC cut shares of United Parcel Service from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Baird R W downgraded United Parcel Service from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $120.87.

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.