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

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) 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 changed hands during 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 have recently commented on UPS. Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird cut shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 2.2 %

The firm 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $120.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.11. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacific Sage Partners LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Tradewinds LLC. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 4,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Gleason Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,660 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is 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.