United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Downgraded by Robert W. Baird to Neutral

Robert W. Baird lowered shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $130.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $160.00.

UPS has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.95.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS stock opened at $114.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $97.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.40. United Parcel Service has a 1 year low of $109.62 and a 1 year high of $158.95.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.71%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.49%.

Insider Activity

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 valued at $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,921 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,080,170,000 after buying an additional 373,202 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,994,853,000 after buying an additional 14,539,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 380,229 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is 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.