United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Down 2.2% on Analyst Downgrade

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) dropped 2.2% during trading on Monday after Loop Capital lowered their price target on the stock from $120.00 to $115.00. Loop Capital currently has a hold rating on the stock. United Parcel Service traded as low as $109.40 and last traded at $111.70. Approximately 4,416,383 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 6,645,742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.23.

UPS has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 39.7% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 108,360 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,793,000 after purchasing an additional 30,815 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 7.4% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 149,220 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $20,345,000 after acquiring an additional 10,227 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 5.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,680 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $774,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.8% in the third quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 43,360 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,912,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 20.3% during the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 52,392 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,143,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $94.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.98. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $128.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.61 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.86%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 96.45%.

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.