United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Stock Price Down 3.8% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) traded down 3.8% during trading on Tuesday 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 $112.13 and last traded at $111.45. 1,449,649 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 4,496,863 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.80.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on UPS. Baird R W cut United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parcel Service

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UPS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,075,393,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter worth $393,680,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 833.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $282,783,000 after buying an additional 1,851,900 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $1,384,567,000 after buying an additional 1,484,452 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,150,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $397,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $94.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.68. 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 5.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

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.