United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Up 0.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) shares shot up 0.2% during trading on Friday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $111.00 to $115.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. United Parcel Service traded as high as $101.65 and last traded at $100.53. 1,487,753 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 6,400,719 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.35.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $98.00 price target (down from $120.00) on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. HSBC cut United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $113.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $126.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacific Sage Partners LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 4.8% in the 4th 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 period. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Altus Wealth Group LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 12,036 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,559 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $86.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.72.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.25 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. The company’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.63%.

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.