United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Stock Price Down 0.4% – What’s Next?

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) traded down 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $113.29 and last traded at $114.05. 945,160 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 6,700,629 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W cut United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $125.25 and a 200 day moving average of $129.06. The firm has a market cap of $97.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. Analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.72%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 96.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,064,000 after buying an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 8.6% in 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 period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position 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 worth $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth about $1,305,000. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

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.