United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Shares Down 0.7% – Here’s What Happened

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) dropped 0.7% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $132.50 and last traded at $133.21. Approximately 531,709 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 4,163,342 shares. The stock had previously closed at $134.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UPS. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Baird R W upgraded shares of United Parcel Service to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $168.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.71.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 1.3 %

The company has a market cap of $113.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $132.06 and its 200-day moving average is $135.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 98.49%.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UPS. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during 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 buying an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Natixis bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the 1st quarter valued at about $121,000. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 3,835 shares during the last quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 26,319 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,602,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 71.8% in the second quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. now owns 14,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,988,000 after purchasing an additional 6,073 shares during the last quarter. 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.