United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Upgraded at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $147.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock.

UPS has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 2.7 %

United Parcel Service stock opened at $123.38 on Wednesday. United Parcel Service has a 12 month low of $122.01 and a 12 month high of $161.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $105.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.00.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Equities analysts predict that United Parcel Service will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.28%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parcel Service

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,503,000 after buying an additional 3,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,919,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $367,300,000 after buying an additional 685,259 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.