United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Stock Position Lifted by Rakuten Securities Inc.

Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 52.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 767 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $97,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $282,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851,900 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in United Parcel Service by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $397,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,136 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 1,337,058 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its position in United Parcel Service by 14.6% in 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 during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $115.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $98.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.40 and a 12 month high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.70%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Baird R W cut United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.00.

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.