United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Down 0.5% – Here’s What Happened

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) shares fell 0.5% on Friday . The company traded as low as $112.66 and last traded at $112.86. 1,172,718 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 6,888,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on UPS. Raymond James cut their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.46. 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 company has a market cap of $96.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted 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 net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.80%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 96.45%.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parcel Service

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,994,853,000 after purchasing an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $282,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851,900 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,933,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.