United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Shares Down 0.8% – Time to Sell?

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) fell 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $126.07 and last traded at $126.28. Approximately 634,819 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 4,172,132 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $144.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.29.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $132.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The business 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 98.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Busey Bank lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Busey Bank now owns 2,641 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,049 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,576,000 after buying an additional 1,458 shares during the period. Joule Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 2,724 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 5.5% in the second quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 10.8% during the second quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 17,728 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722 shares in 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.