United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Up 2.3%

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 2.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $149.74 and last traded at $148.75. 2,519,898 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 4,297,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of United Parcel Service from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. TheStreet raised shares of United Parcel Service from a "c" rating to a "b-" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of United Parcel Service from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, HSBC cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $165.61.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 2.4 %

The company's 50 day moving average price is $149.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.05.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.14). United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.46% and a net margin of 7.37%. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. United Parcel Service's payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, Director Eva C. Boratto bought 1,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $142.30 per share, for a total transaction of $199,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,220. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MWA Asset Management purchased a new position in United Parcel Service in the third quarter valued at $2,125,000. Chesapeake Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.3% during the third quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 7,886 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 387,381 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $60,908,000 after purchasing an additional 44,721 shares in the last quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 58,184 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $9,148,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $11,587,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company's stock.

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.