Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $3.27 Million Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,933 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 27,705 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,494,000 after buying an additional 1,246 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 85.8% in the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,763 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 5,431 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $794,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth approximately $314,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 107.7% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,361,621 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $171,700,000 after purchasing an additional 705,897 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.91.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

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

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.96%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.