Wells Fargo & Company Cuts United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Price Target to $128.00

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $150.00 to $128.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Argus raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.95.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.6 %

UPS stock opened at $114.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.00. United Parcel Service has a 12 month low of $109.62 and a 12 month high of $158.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.71%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 98.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after acquiring an additional 373,202 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,994,853,000 after purchasing an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,448,960,000 after purchasing an additional 380,229 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.