United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Down 3.1%

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) was down 3.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $132.03 and last traded at $132.15. Approximately 1,014,877 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 4,261,505 shares. The stock had previously closed at $136.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on UPS shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Baird R W upgraded shares of United Parcel Service to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $175.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.68.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 2.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $128.57 and its 200-day moving average is $138.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.99.

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 business had revenue of $21.82 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William R. Johnson bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $128.61 per share, for a total transaction of $643,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $663,627.60. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,854,180,000 after buying an additional 8,475,698 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $991,556,000 after buying an additional 406,248 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $888,254,000 after buying an additional 20,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,144,372 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $567,157,000 after purchasing an additional 393,434 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is 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.