United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Down 3.4%

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) shares traded down 3.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $151.00 and last traded at $151.19. 2,466,482 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 4,100,735 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UPS. Robert W. Baird raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Argus lowered United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $175.00 to $147.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, TheStreet upgraded United Parcel Service from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.19.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.45. The company has a market cap of $123.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.01. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 39.46%. The firm had revenue of $24.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto purchased 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,220. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,218,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,568,798,000 after acquiring an additional 178,394 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,354,781 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,082,594,000 after buying an additional 357,974 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,854,180,000 after purchasing an additional 8,475,698 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,889,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,456,055,000 after acquiring an additional 628,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,280,190,000 after buying an additional 14,410,073 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.