Natixis Sells 72,712 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Natixis reduced its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 69.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,086 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 72,712 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 2nd quarter valued at about $851,842,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 11,517.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,503,413 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $252,695,000 after buying an additional 2,481,864 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 78.7% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,086,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $412,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,799,882 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 45.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,730,804 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $578,467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 443.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,549,962 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $156,453,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,842 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on UPS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Stephens upgraded shares of United Parcel Service to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.00.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 2.9%

UPS opened at $99.79 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.62. The company has a market capitalization of $84.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.11. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.00 and a 1-year high of $136.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The transportation company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.43. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 40.07% and a net margin of 6.15%.The firm had revenue of $21.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.76 EPS. United Parcel Service’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.39%.

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.