Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Stock Price

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) had its price objective cut by Bank of America from $150.00 to $133.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on UPS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird cut United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.95.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $114.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $97.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.40. 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 current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. Analysts predict that United Parcel Service will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. 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 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 transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 6.4% in 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 buying an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,080,170,000 after buying an additional 373,202 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in 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 buying an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 3.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after acquiring an additional 380,229 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.