United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading 0.7% Higher

Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) traded up 0.7% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $144.12 and last traded at $143.77. 630,947 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 4,259,163 shares. The stock had previously closed at $142.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $154.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $154.00 price target on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.61.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business’s fifty day moving average is $149.55 and its 200 day moving average is $151.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.05.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.01. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 39.46%. The business had revenue of $24.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto purchased 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $142.30 per share, for a total transaction of $199,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,220. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,280,190,000 after purchasing an additional 14,410,073 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in United Parcel Service by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,854,180,000 after purchasing an additional 8,475,698 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,255,623,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 105,818.6% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,215,560 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $732,833,000 after purchasing an additional 4,211,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in United Parcel Service by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,730,090 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,343,799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949,775 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.