United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Stock Price Down 0.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s share price fell 0.3% during trading 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. 618,231 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 4,450,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.01.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Susquehanna cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UPS. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 232.3% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $94.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. Equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

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.