Eastern Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Eastern Bank reduced its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 48.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,383 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 5,061 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 106.1% during the 2nd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 4,363 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 2,246 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,986,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 14,349 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,964,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 12,826 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,134.0% during the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 55,764 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,631,000 after buying an additional 51,245 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $125.14 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $121.56 and a one year high of $161.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.00.

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

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.21%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.49%.

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.