Blair William & Co. IL Cuts Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL has reduced its holdings in United Parcel Service (UPS) by 5.9%, owning 181,290 shares valued at approximately $19.94 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• CEO Carol B. Tome significantly increased her stake in UPS by acquiring 11,682 shares, raising her total ownership to 24,718 shares, valued at over $2 million.
• Recent analyst ratings have varied, with Susquehanna lowering its target price from $110 to $100, while UBS adjusted its price objective from $124 to $118, reflecting mixed sentiment towards UPS's stock.

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 181,290 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 11,391 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $19,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 63.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,126 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,529,000 after buying an additional 4,723 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $336,000. Prudential PLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 29,440 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,334 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,587,000. Finally, Aviva PLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 441,124 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $55,626,000 after purchasing an additional 107,148 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In related news, Director William R. Johnson bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $86.50 per share, for a total transaction of $432,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 10,160 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $878,840. This trade represents a 96.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Carol B. Tome purchased 11,682 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $85.67 per share, with a total value of $1,000,796.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,718 shares in the company, valued at $2,117,591.06. The trade was a 89.61% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE UPS traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $85.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,978,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,250,945. The business's 50-day moving average is $99.11 and its 200-day moving average is $105.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market cap of $72.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.12. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.28 and a 52 week high of $145.01.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.90 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.61% and a net margin of 6.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on UPS shares. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $117.00 to $107.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bernstein Bank boosted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $114.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.81.

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.