United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading 0.3% Higher – Should You Buy?

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) was up 0.3% on Monday . The company traded as high as $124.85 and last traded at $124.13. Approximately 1,413,179 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 2,571,940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $123.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.57. The company has a market cap of $106.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. United Parcel Service’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.24%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 98.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 15,867 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 5,867 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,919,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $367,300,000 after purchasing an additional 685,259 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,350 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 8,810 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,530,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $819,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

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.