United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Down 0.8% – What’s Next?

Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) fell 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $118.08 and last traded at $117.86. 565,105 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 4,413,753 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on UPS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Baird R W cut United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 2.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $99.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.25.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.63%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,213,699,000 after acquiring an additional 370,705 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,979,695,000 after acquiring an additional 414,710 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,384,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484,452 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.