Northern Trust Corp Grows Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,391,605 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 648,539 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.87% of United Parcel Service worth $932,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pacific Sage Partners LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Gleason Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,660 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,583 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Altus Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $96.89 on Tuesday. 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 simple moving average is $108.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.14. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.55 and a 12-month high of $153.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. Analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a positive change from United Parcel Service's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $126.41.

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.

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