Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $6.52 Million Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,375 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 8,456 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $6,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 79,597 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,268,000 after purchasing an additional 9,400 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 25.3% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 208,753 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,405,000 after acquiring an additional 42,156 shares during the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 141.3% during the 2nd quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 39,095 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,008,000 after acquiring an additional 22,890 shares during the period. Ascension Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,651,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 3.1% during the second quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 15,156 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,717,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. 58.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service to $203.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Loop Capital lowered United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $210.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. StockNews.com began coverage on United Parcel Service in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $173.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.91.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of UPS stock traded up $1.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $147.98. The company had a trading volume of 3,320,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,368,243. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.68 and a 52 week high of $197.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $150.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.49.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The transportation company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.04. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 43.46%. The company had revenue of $21.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 30th. Investors of record on Monday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 10th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.59%.

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 letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States.