United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Shares Up 0.4% After Dividend Announcement

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) shares traded up 0.4% on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $135.40 and last traded at $134.48. 516,829 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 4,168,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.92.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on UPS shares. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $144.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.71.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.39. The firm has a market cap of $114.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.99.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,994,853,000 after purchasing an additional 14,539,321 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 6.5% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,671,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $991,556,000 after purchasing an additional 406,248 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,490,712 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $888,254,000 after purchasing an additional 20,426 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 10.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,144,372 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $567,157,000 after purchasing an additional 393,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,113,870 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $611,445,000 after acquiring an additional 101,349 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.