Cerity Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 443,795 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 12,801 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $60,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after buying an additional 1,620,091 shares during the period. Natixis purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter valued at about $121,000. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after buying an additional 3,835 shares during the period. Financial Partners Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 26,319 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,602,000 after buying an additional 5,069 shares during the period. Finally, Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 71.8% during the 2nd quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. now owns 14,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,988,000 after buying an additional 6,073 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $134.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $115.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.99. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.12 and a 12-month high of $163.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.20.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 98.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.52.

United Parcel Service 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.