Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $12.40 Million Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,355 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,093 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $12,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacific Sage Partners LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 4,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 7,177 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $979,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on UPS. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.00.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of UPS stock opened at $120.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.40 and a twelve month high of $158.95. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.72.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio 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.