Traders Purchase Large Volume of United Parcel Service Call Options (NYSE:UPS)

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 47,822 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 30% compared to the average volume of 36,852 call options.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in United Parcel Service by 4.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after purchasing an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth about $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,304,000 after purchasing an additional 28,108 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPS has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on United Parcel Service in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $119.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.00.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.8 %

UPS traded down $0.95 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $120.67. 5,454,921 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,436,453. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. United Parcel Service has a one year low of $109.40 and a one year high of $158.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that United Parcel Service will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.44%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

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.