United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Down 0.1%

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s stock price dropped 0.1% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $127.85 and last traded at $128.48. Approximately 634,762 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 4,267,507 shares. The stock had previously closed at $128.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UPS. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $169.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $144.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.68.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.6 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $129.51 and a 200-day moving average of $138.84. The company has a market capitalization of $110.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $21.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 35.27%. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.54 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.03%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 94.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Parcel Service news, Director William R. Johnson purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $128.61 per share, for a total transaction of $643,050.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $663,627.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,218,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,568,798,000 after acquiring an additional 178,394 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 87.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,854,180,000 after acquiring an additional 8,475,698 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,671,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $991,556,000 after acquiring an additional 406,248 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,490,712 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $888,254,000 after acquiring an additional 20,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,144,372 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $567,157,000 after acquiring an additional 393,434 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by 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.