Morgan Stanley Raises United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Price Target to $100.00

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on UPS. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $153.00 price target on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Susquehanna dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group raised United Parcel Service from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $156.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.9 %

UPS stock opened at $148.63 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. United Parcel Service has a 1-year low of $133.68 and a 1-year high of $197.80. The stock has a market cap of $126.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.05.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.01. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.46% and a net margin of 7.37%. The business had revenue of $24.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that United Parcel Service will post 8.28 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto acquired 1,400 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $142.30 per share, for a total transaction of $199,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,220. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,218,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,568,798,000 after purchasing an additional 178,394 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,354,781 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,082,594,000 after purchasing an additional 357,974 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 87.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,854,180,000 after purchasing an additional 8,475,698 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,889,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,456,055,000 after purchasing an additional 628,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,280,190,000 after purchasing an additional 14,410,073 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.