United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Stock Price Down 0.2% – Here’s What Happened

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) shares traded down 0.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $134.93 and last traded at $135.17. 796,462 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 4,180,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UPS. Citigroup reduced their target price on United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird cut United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Argus upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.95.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $97.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.61.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.49%.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after buying an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 833.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $282,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851,900 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 5,136.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,079,964 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $147,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,339 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

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.