Cullen Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Cullen Capital Management LLC cut its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 757,049 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 272,451 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of United Parcel Service worth $95,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,213,699,000 after purchasing an additional 370,705 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,979,695,000 after buying an additional 414,710 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,384,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 10,040,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,272,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277,328 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on UPS shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.18.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $97.62 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $115.82 and a 200-day moving average of $125.64. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.57 and a 52-week high of $153.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 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 last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.72%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.04%.

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.