United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading 0.6% Higher

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s stock price traded up 0.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $136.49 and last traded at $135.66. 552,442 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 4,023,584 shares. The stock had previously closed at $134.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.55.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $115.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. United Parcel Service’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.22 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.81%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.0% in the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 9,291 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 35.8% in the second quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 64.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 10,109 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,383,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 38,781 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.