Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Sells 350 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co trimmed its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,654 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,213,699,000 after buying an additional 370,705 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the fourth 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,979,695,000 after acquiring an additional 414,710 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,384,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484,452 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,895,828 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,373,964,000 after purchasing an additional 268,278 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:UPS opened at $96.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $82.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.55 and a fifty-two week high of $153.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.26.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.11. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.81%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. HSBC downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.87.

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.