United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Stock Position Lifted by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 423,026 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,102 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $53,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UPS. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 280,509 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $38,245,000 after buying an additional 7,675 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 8.9% in the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 5,924 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 5.0% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 124,070 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,916,000 after acquiring an additional 5,956 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,040,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 58.6% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 97,712 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,322,000 after purchasing an additional 36,091 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.91.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

NYSE UPS opened at $110.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.79. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.40 and a 52-week high of $157.99.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase 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 5.96%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.04%.

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.