United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Stock Price Down 1.3% – What’s Next?

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) shares were down 1.3% on Monday . The company traded as low as $83.05 and last traded at $83.90. Approximately 3,989,104 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 6,530,369 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $127.00 to $114.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.59.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.9%

The stock has a market cap of $71.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.01). United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 39.61%. The business had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.8%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Carol B. Tome bought 11,682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $85.67 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,796.94. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 24,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,117,591.06. This represents a 89.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christiana Smith Shi acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.17 per share, for a total transaction of $44,085.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $44,085. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 17,182 shares of company stock worth $1,477,382. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the second quarter valued at $851,842,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 124.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,011,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $991,132,000 after buying an additional 4,988,044 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,056.6% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,336,175 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $476,936,000 after acquiring an additional 3,961,255 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 11,517.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,503,413 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $252,695,000 after purchasing an additional 2,481,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the first quarter worth approximately $201,358,000. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.