Analysts Set United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Price Target at $164.55

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have assigned a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $164.55.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UPS. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $154.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS stock opened at $142.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.04. United Parcel Service has a one year low of $132.90 and a one year high of $192.98. The stock has a market cap of $121.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.03.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that United Parcel Service will post 8.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2,668.4% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 277,451 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,246,000 after acquiring an additional 267,429 shares in the last quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,353,000. Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,556 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 77,475 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,076,000 after acquiring an additional 8,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 17,349 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,521 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.