United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Stock Price Down 0.1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) traded down 0.1% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $129.43 and last traded at $129.77. 4,260,034 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 16% from the average session volume of 3,680,905 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on UPS. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $113.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.00. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $128.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.83.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 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 firm’s 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 owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after buying an additional 33,989 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,305,000. Finally, Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 26.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

About United Parcel Service

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.