United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Stock Price Down 2.6% – Time to Sell?

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s stock price fell 2.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $112.46 and last traded at $113.90. 3,395,041 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 4,431,387 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on UPS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on United Parcel Service in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $97.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.11.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,213,699,000 after acquiring an additional 370,705 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,979,695,000 after buying an additional 414,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,384,567,000 after buying an additional 1,484,452 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.