United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Shares Down 1.1% After Analyst Downgrade

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) was down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Susquehanna lowered their price target on the stock from $130.00 to $120.00. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the stock. United Parcel Service traded as low as $108.35 and last traded at $108.73. Approximately 1,523,779 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 6,298,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.99.

UPS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Baird R W downgraded United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $119.00 target price for the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPS. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after buying an additional 33,989 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,304,000 after purchasing an additional 28,108 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $118.12 and its 200-day moving average is $126.27.

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

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 6.03%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 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.