United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Plans Dividend Increase – $1.64 Per Share

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of 1.64 per share by the transportation company on Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.86%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63.

United Parcel Service has increased its dividend payment by an average of 16.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 15 years. United Parcel Service has a dividend payout ratio of 65.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect United Parcel Service to earn $9.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 69.8%.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.2 %

United Parcel Service stock opened at $111.95 on Thursday. United Parcel Service has a 1 year low of $109.40 and a 1 year high of $158.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $127.32 and its 200-day moving average is $129.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $95.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was 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 this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on UPS. Robert W. Baird cut United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Argus raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

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.