Fisher Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Fisher Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,962 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 9,965 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $5,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 10.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 17.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 10.6% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,072,282 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $423,746,000 after buying an additional 486,384 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UPS. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.50.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS opened at $106.65 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.00 and a 1 year high of $122.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.06.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.05. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 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 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 106.15%.

About United Parcel Service

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.