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

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

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.57.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 14,532 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 2,720 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 285,266 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $38,893,000 after purchasing an additional 19,666 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,639,272 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $632,518,000 after buying an additional 292,777 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 14.5% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 32,289 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,402,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in United Parcel Service by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 55,829 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,612,000 after buying an additional 17,155 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $118.52 and its 200-day moving average is $126.44. The firm has a market cap of $93.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.22, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. 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. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.98%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.