Northeast Investment Management Has $3.59 Million Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Northeast Investment Management trimmed its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 29.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,474 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 11,818 shares during the period. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Cigna Investments Inc. New raised its position in United Parcel Service by 1.0% during the third quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.6% in the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Gleason Group Inc. raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the third quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,576 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 4,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on UPS shares. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $113.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.24. The stock has a market cap of $96.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.80%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 96.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.