United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Shares Down 0.3% on Analyst Downgrade

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) 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 were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 4,450,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.01.

UPS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Baird R W downgraded United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 232.3% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.42.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its 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 net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. Analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

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