First Financial Corp IN Reduces Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

First Financial Corp IN lowered its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 44.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 184 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $27,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,280,190,000 after acquiring an additional 14,410,073 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,854,180,000 after buying an additional 8,475,698 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,128,322,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 208.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,717,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $270,025,000 after buying an additional 1,160,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,607,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,510,517,000 after buying an additional 980,317 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on UPS shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. HSBC raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $154.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.55.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock traded up $4.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $138.79. 3,194,762 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,027,093. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.90 and a 12 month high of $192.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $142.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.01.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 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.