Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Has $8.46 Million Stock Holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 67,077 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 6,649 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $8,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.8% during the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,060 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 12.2% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 17,236 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,880 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,021,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 25.9% during the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 26,457 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,607,000 after purchasing an additional 5,444 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 79.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,675 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,410,000 after purchasing an additional 7,836 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.70.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $96.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $90.55 and a one year high of $153.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $110.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.36.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.81%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

United Parcel Service Company 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.