United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.64

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of 1.64 per share by the transportation company on Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63.

United Parcel Service has raised its dividend by an average of 16.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 16 years. United Parcel Service has a dividend payout ratio of 74.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect United Parcel Service to earn $8.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 74.0%.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:UPS opened at $116.37 on Friday. United Parcel Service has a 1-year low of $109.40 and a 1-year high of $158.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $124.53 and a 200 day moving average of $128.78. The firm has a market cap of $99.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on UPS. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.