United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Down 0.3% – Time to Sell?

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s stock price traded down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $128.90 and last traded at $129.87. 726,130 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 4,155,546 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UPS shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $144.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Susquehanna upped their price target on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.29.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.5 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. Equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.49%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after acquiring an additional 613,409 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,989,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,080,170,000 after purchasing an additional 373,202 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,994,853,000 after buying an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,448,960,000 after buying an additional 380,229 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.