United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) were down 1.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $115.39 and last traded at $115.35. Approximately 1,426,478 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 6,480,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on UPS shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.36. The company has a market cap of $99.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UPS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,075,393,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% in 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 period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,384,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484,452 shares during the period. 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.