Wells Fargo & Company Cuts United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Price Target to $120.00

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) had its price objective lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $128.00 to $120.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on United Parcel Service in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.57.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS stock opened at $109.66 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $118.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. United Parcel Service has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $154.29.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Parcel Service will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.64 dividend. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.98%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacific Sage Partners LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Gleason Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,660 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Weaver Consulting Group increased its position in United Parcel Service by 3.0% during the third quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 3,053 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

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.