United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Price Target Cut to $150.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) had its target price trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Argus upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE:UPS opened at $126.70 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $129.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.33. United Parcel Service has a 1-year low of $122.01 and a 1-year high of $161.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.00.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that United Parcel Service will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.15%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.49%.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPS. First Hawaiian Bank grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 117.6% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,419 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $936,000 after buying an additional 4,009 shares during the last quarter. InvesTrust acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,856,000. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth approximately $560,000. Birch Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 47,641 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,008,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 5,627 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

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.