United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.64 on March 6th

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of 1.64 per share by the transportation company on Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63.

United Parcel Service has increased its dividend payment by an average of 16.9% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. United Parcel Service has a dividend payout ratio of 73.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect United Parcel Service to earn $9.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 69.8%.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 1.4 %

UPS stock opened at $113.47 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $126.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.57. United Parcel Service has a 12 month low of $109.40 and a 12 month high of $158.95. The company has a market cap of $96.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS 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 posted $2.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UPS shares. Baird R W cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service 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 value of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% 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.