Northern Trust Corp Purchases 23,918 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has increased its stake in United Parcel Service (UPS) by 0.3% to own approximately 7.4 million shares, valued at $815.63 million.
• CEO Carol B. Tome purchased 11,682 shares of UPS stock, significantly increasing her ownership by 89.61% following a $1 million transaction.
• UPS recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.55 per share, slightly below analyst estimates, while revenue of $21.2 billion exceeded expectations, but was a 2.7% decrease year-over-year.

Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,415,523 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,918 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.87% of United Parcel Service worth $815,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,136,226 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $7,274,323,000 after purchasing an additional 999,832 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,045,472 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,754,751,000 after buying an additional 1,780,807 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 124.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,011,107 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $991,132,000 after buying an additional 4,988,044 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,463,930 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $815,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,056.6% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,336,175 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $476,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,961,255 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS stock traded up $1.2070 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $87.7170. 7,213,793 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,957,637. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $96.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.44. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $84.28 and a one year high of $145.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.12.

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

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio is currently 97.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UPS. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $124.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Galvan Research dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William R. Johnson bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $86.50 per share, with a total value of $432,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,160 shares of the company's stock, valued at $878,840. This trade represents a 96.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Carol B. Tome acquired 11,682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $85.67 per share, with a total value of $1,000,796.94. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,718 shares in the company, valued at $2,117,591.06. This represents a 89.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.