United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Down 1.2%

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) fell 1.2% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $130.77 and last traded at $131.38. 983,406 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 4,247,695 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UPS. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.68.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $112.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $128.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued 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). United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 35.27%. The business had revenue of $21.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William R. Johnson purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $128.61 per share, for a total transaction of $643,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,160 shares in the company, valued at $663,627.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 248.2% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 7,640 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after acquiring an additional 5,446 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 127.4% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 88,783 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,959,000 after acquiring an additional 49,744 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 43,818 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,890,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 103,752 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,313,000 after acquiring an additional 2,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bollard Group LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 7,237 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.