United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS Shares Bought by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 483.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 97,715 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,975 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $9,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UPS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in United Parcel Service by 63.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,126 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after buying an additional 4,723 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $277,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $848,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in United Parcel Service by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 342,866 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,609,000 after buying an additional 9,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in United Parcel Service by 154.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 104,819 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,580,000 after buying an additional 63,629 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.50.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

UPS opened at $110.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $103.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.33. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.00 and a 1 year high of $122.41. The stock has a market cap of $93.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.05.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.05. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 106.15%.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.