United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Down 7.8% After Analyst Downgrade

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s stock price dropped 7.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $141.00 to $127.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. United Parcel Service traded as low as $101.51 and last traded at $101.58. Approximately 3,381,224 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 4,665,624 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.20.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on UPS. Bank of America cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $119.00 price target for the company. Baird R W lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.22.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,213,699,000 after buying an additional 370,705 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after acquiring an additional 613,409 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,933,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,979,695,000 after purchasing an additional 414,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,384,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484,452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 7.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business’s 50-day moving average is $117.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.04. The firm has a market cap of $87.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.43%. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

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.