Stephens Cuts United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Price Target to $140.00

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) had its target price lowered by Stephens from $168.00 to $140.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has an equal weight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $145.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $120.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $169.00 to $155.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $134.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $154.95.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

NYSE UPS opened at $128.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $137.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.69. United Parcel Service has a 52-week low of $124.80 and a 52-week high of $189.65. The company has a market cap of $110.24 billion, a PE ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.20). United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 35.27%. The business had revenue of $21.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.54 earnings per share. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that United Parcel Service will post 8.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.06%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 94.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other news, Director William R. Johnson acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $128.61 per share, with a total value of $643,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $663,627.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,280,190,000 after purchasing an additional 14,410,073 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,854,180,000 after purchasing an additional 8,475,698 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter worth about $1,128,322,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 208.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,717,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $270,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the first quarter worth about $160,787,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

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.