United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,114,499 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 1,325,953 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.48% of United Parcel Service worth $518,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $113,064,000 after acquiring an additional 33,989 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth about $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the 3rd 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 during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $16,304,000 after purchasing an additional 28,108 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on UPS. StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $128.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.32.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS traded up $0.10 on Friday, reaching $96.66. The stock had a trading volume of 2,304,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,786,458. The business's 50-day moving average price is $112.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.21. The company has a market cap of $82.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.55 and a 12-month high of $153.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 period last year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.79%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

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.