Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Sells 4,563 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,302 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 4,563 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $4,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after purchasing an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth approximately $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,305,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of UPS opened at $113.20 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.40 and a 1-year high of $158.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $125.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.80%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.45%.

About United Parcel Service

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.