United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Shares Bought by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 35.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,703 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,759 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,064,000 after purchasing an additional 33,989 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,304,000 after acquiring an additional 28,108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on UPS shares. StockNews.com raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird cut United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $115.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $120.13 and a 200 day moving average of $127.02.

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, 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 last year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.04%.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

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.