United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Stock Price Down 0.5% – Time to Sell?

Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) dropped 0.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $124.50 and last traded at $125.17. Approximately 480,171 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 4,215,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on UPS. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Argus upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.29.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $107.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $131.73 and a 200 day moving average of $132.11.

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

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,064,000 after acquiring an additional 33,989 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after buying an additional 6,941 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 26.4% during the third quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 3,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 71.8% in the second quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. now owns 14,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,988,000 after purchasing an additional 6,073 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

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.