United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Price Target Lowered to $153.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) had its price target decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $156.00 to $153.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on UPS. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wolfe Research raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.24.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS opened at $133.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $114.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.82. United Parcel Service has a 12-month low of $121.56 and a 12-month high of $161.35.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. United Parcel Service’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. Research analysts predict that United Parcel Service will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.88%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of UPS. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 232.3% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 397.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 214 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 408.2% in the 3rd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 249 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 720.0% during the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

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.