United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Up 1.2% – What’s Next?

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s stock price shot up 1.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $117.79 and last traded at $117.51. 948,605 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 6,461,484 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on UPS. 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Loop Capital cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 1.8 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $122.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.32. The stock has a market cap of $100.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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 return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 97.04%.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 370,705 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after acquiring an additional 613,409 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,933,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337,058 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,979,695,000 after acquiring an additional 414,710 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,384,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484,452 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.