United Parcel Service Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:UPS)

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 55,616 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 86% compared to the typical daily volume of 29,953 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cigna Investments Inc. New increased its position in United Parcel Service by 1.0% in the third quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Gleason Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the third quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,576 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on UPS. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.95.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $114.19 on Friday. United Parcel Service has a one year low of $109.62 and a one year high of $158.95. The company has a market cap of $97.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $128.72 and a 200-day moving average of $130.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.71%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.49%.

About United Parcel Service

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.