United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Up 0.8% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) were up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $147.78 and last traded at $147.09. Approximately 328,308 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 4,221,791 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.92.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Argus lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $125.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $149.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.74.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MWA Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 3rd quarter worth $2,125,000. Chesapeake Wealth Management lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.3% during the third quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 7,886 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 387,381 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,908,000 after purchasing an additional 44,721 shares during the last quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 58,184 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,148,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.0% during the third quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,337 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,587,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.