United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Down 0% – What’s Next?

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s stock price dropped 0% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $111.01 and last traded at $111.76. Approximately 1,591,716 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 6,923,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their price target 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, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $96.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.46.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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. As a group, research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.80%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.45%.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value 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. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth $1,305,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

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.