United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Down 0.6% Following Analyst Downgrade

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) traded down 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $141.00 to $127.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. United Parcel Service traded as low as $96.57 and last traded at $99.51. 1,990,770 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 4,683,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.12.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.18.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parcel Service

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,213,699,000 after buying an additional 370,705 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,933,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337,058 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,979,695,000 after acquiring an additional 414,710 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,384,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484,452 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,895,828 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,373,964,000 after buying an additional 268,278 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $83.39 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.64.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost 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.