United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Stock Price Up 0.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s share price was up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Wolfe Research upgraded the stock from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating. Wolfe Research now has a $147.00 price target on the stock. United Parcel Service traded as high as $126.47 and last traded at $126.02. Approximately 1,138,673 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 3,264,239 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.98.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on UPS. StockNews.com raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.10.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction 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 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UPS. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 254.8% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 72,867 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,969,000 after purchasing an additional 52,329 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 295,160 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,393,000 after buying an additional 5,544 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 122,183 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,721,000 after buying an additional 12,200 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 7.7% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 81,364 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,135,000 after acquiring an additional 5,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carson Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 34.2% during the second quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 13,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 3,354 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $108.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.90 and a 200 day moving average of $131.37.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. United Parcel Service’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 98.49%.

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.