United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Stock Price Up 1.2%

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s share price traded up 1.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $128.70 and last traded at $128.55. 4,116,000 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 3% from the average session volume of 4,240,979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $126.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on UPS shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Baird R W raised United Parcel Service to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $151.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $144.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.20.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

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

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.11%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.49%.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, Director William R. Johnson bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $128.61 per share, for a total transaction of $643,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,160 shares in the company, valued at $663,627.60. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,218,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,568,798,000 after purchasing an additional 178,394 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 87.6% in 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 buying an additional 8,475,698 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in United Parcel Service by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,607,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,510,517,000 after buying an additional 980,317 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,128,322,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.5% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,671,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $991,556,000 after acquiring an additional 406,248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% 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.