United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Receives $151.10 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $151.10.

UPS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,350 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,692,000 after buying an additional 8,810 shares in the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,530,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $819,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after purchasing an additional 33,989 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $123.79 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.69. United Parcel Service has a 12-month low of $122.01 and a 12-month high of $161.48. The firm has a market cap of $105.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. United Parcel Service’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.49%.

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.