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

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s stock price was down 0.3% on Monday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $160.00 to $158.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. United Parcel Service traded as low as $143.69 and last traded at $144.71. Approximately 558,091 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 3,957,832 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.18.

UPS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on United Parcel Service from $154.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Redburn Atlantic raised United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.45.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,218,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,568,798,000 after purchasing an additional 178,394 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 87.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,854,180,000 after purchasing an additional 8,475,698 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,280,190,000 after purchasing an additional 14,410,073 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,607,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,510,517,000 after purchasing an additional 980,317 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,128,322,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $124.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $139.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.10.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.49%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.49%.

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.