Griffin Asset Management Inc. Sells 17,790 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Key Points

• Griffin Asset Management cut its UPS stake by 66.1% in Q4, selling 17,790 shares and leaving it with 9,119 shares valued at about $905,000.
• UPS reported quarterly earnings of $1.07 per share, beating estimates, while revenue came in at $21.20 billion; however, sales were still down 1.4% from a year earlier.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, implying a 6.6% annualized yield, though the payout ratio is above 100% at 106.15%.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 66.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,119 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 17,790 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $905,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,496,420 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,794,160,000 after buying an additional 1,218,432 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,063,250 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,594,713,000 after buying an additional 288,720 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 10.5% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,724,265 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $561,678,000 after buying an additional 993,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 10.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,072,282 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $423,746,000 after purchasing an additional 486,384 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company's stock.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 2.1%

United Parcel Service stock opened at $98.84 on Thursday. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $100.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $102.72. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.00 and a 12 month high of $122.41. The company has a market capitalization of $84.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.06.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.05. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 5.94%.The business had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. United Parcel Service's payout ratio is 106.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $88.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.87.

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.

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