Insider Buying: United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Director Buys 5,000 Shares of Stock

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Director William R. Johnson bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $128.61 per share, for a total transaction of $643,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $663,627.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS opened at $128.83 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $124.80 and a one year high of $189.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.20). United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 35.27%. The company had revenue of $21.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.06%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 94.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gleason Group Inc. boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.7% in the first quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 9,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.4% in the second quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,212 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on UPS shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $175.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $169.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.95.

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.