United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Price Target Lowered to $82.00 at Morgan Stanley

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $82.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on UPS. Robert W. Baird downgraded United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.95.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $114.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.00. United Parcel Service has a 1 year low of $109.62 and a 1 year high of $158.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $282,783,000 after buying an additional 1,851,900 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 5,136.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,079,964 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $147,242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,339 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.