United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Stock Falls 2.4% – Should You Sell?

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) traded down 2.4% on Friday. The company traded as low as $108.14 and last traded at $108.39. 6,357,243 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 5,628,267 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on UPS shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $124.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.45.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $92.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.70.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The transportation company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $22.85 billion for the quarter. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.78% and a net margin of 4.84%. Equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Matthew Guffey sold 8,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.39, for a total value of $876,634.02. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,560.69. This represents a 96.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 23.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,728,123 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $957,053,000 after buying an additional 1,836,651 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,037,626 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $495,411,000 after acquiring an additional 271,646 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,639,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $456,417,000 after acquiring an additional 97,582 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,631,133 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $357,231,000 after acquiring an additional 988,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,510,630 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $345,376,000 after acquiring an additional 266,396 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service, Inc (UPS) is a global package delivery and logistics company. Its services include domestic and international shipping, air and ground delivery, freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and supply chain management.

UPS also provides solutions for businesses, including warehousing, inventory management, healthcare logistics, and returns processing. Its network serves customers in more than 200 countries and territories.

Founded in Seattle in 1907 as the American Messenger Company, UPS is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.