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

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s stock price fell 0.3% on Friday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $156.00 to $153.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. United Parcel Service traded as low as $132.53 and last traded at $133.22. 482,919 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 4,246,567 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.61.

UPS has been the topic of several other reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade 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 at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 76.4% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 28,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,208 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 241,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,631,000. AXA S.A. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 209,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,635,000 after purchasing an additional 2,291 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 102.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 475,418 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $65,061,000 after purchasing an additional 240,554 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $113.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.00. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $128.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.84.

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

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.49%.

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.