United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Shares Down 0.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) dropped 0.3% on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $128.00 to $120.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. United Parcel Service traded as low as $110.16 and last traded at $110.69. Approximately 618,231 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 4,450,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.01.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on UPS. Baird R W cut United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,064,000 after purchasing an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth approximately $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,941 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,304,000 after purchasing an additional 28,108 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $94.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $118.92 and a 200 day moving average of $126.58. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.92%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

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.