Eastern Bank Reduces Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Eastern Bank lessened its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 48.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,383 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 5,061 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS stock opened at $125.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.38 and a 200-day moving average of $131.08. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.56 and a 12-month high of $161.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS 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. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.21%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.49%.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.