Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of United Parcel Service Call Options (NYSE:UPS)

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 34,148 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 33% compared to the average daily volume of 25,672 call options.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:UPS traded up $1.97 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $111.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,557,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,020,810. United Parcel Service has a 52 week low of $82.00 and a 52 week high of $122.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $95.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $105.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.48.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.99 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that United Parcel Service will post 7.11 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.15%.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UPS. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 9.3% in the second quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,997 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 37.5% during the second quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,363 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,784,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. MRA Advisory Group raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 69.8% in the second quarter. MRA Advisory Group now owns 4,571 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 1,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.2% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 138,668 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,907,000 after buying an additional 2,964 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting United Parcel Service this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target on UPS to $132 from $127 and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence that the stock still has meaningful upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Stephens upgraded UPS to Strong Buy, adding to the improving analyst sentiment around the company.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted UPS’s strong earnings-surprise history and said the company has the ingredients for another quarterly beat, which could support the shares ahead of results. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Another Zacks piece said UPS is attracting investor attention, suggesting the stock is seeing elevated interest from market participants. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A FreightWaves report said the U.S. Postal Service is shifting more long-distance mail to air to avoid penalties tied to a UPS volume contract. While this underscores UPS’s negotiating leverage, it also highlights distortions in postal operations rather than a direct earnings catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent commentary remains cautious, with one analyst downgrading UPS to Hold and warning of muted revenue growth and bottom-line pressure into FY2026.
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish coverage also continues to question dividend sustainability and margins, citing competition from Amazon logistics and weak free cash flow.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.10.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.