Brokerages Set United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) PT at $138.09

Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $138.09.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 1.5 %

United Parcel Service stock opened at $115.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. United Parcel Service has a 52-week low of $109.40 and a 52-week high of $158.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $120.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.02. The firm has a market cap of $98.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business posted $2.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that United Parcel Service will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.69%. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $8,213,699,000 after acquiring an additional 370,705 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after acquiring an additional 613,409 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,933,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $1,979,695,000 after acquiring an additional 414,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 15.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is 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.