Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 740 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 872,489 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 740 shares during the period. United Parcel Service accounts for about 5.3% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC owned approximately 0.10% of United Parcel Service worth $137,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in United Parcel Service in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 69.5% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 239 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UPS shares. Argus downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock traded down $0.79 on Friday, hitting $146.43. The stock had a trading volume of 2,039,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,606,672. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $149.39 and a 200 day moving average of $150.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.68 and a twelve month high of $192.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. The company’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 94.49%.

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.