United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Stock Price Up 2% on Analyst Upgrade

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) shares traded up 2% during trading on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $122.00 to $127.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. United Parcel Service traded as high as $104.49 and last traded at $104.24. 946,077 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 5,232,063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.15.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on UPS. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of United Parcel Service from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. HSBC cut shares of United Parcel Service from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Parcel Service from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $126.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $119.13.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPS. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 525.0% during the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 250 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 1.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $85.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm's fifty day moving average is $99.42 and its 200-day moving average is $108.81.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.11. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The firm's revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. United Parcel Service's payout ratio is 95.63%.

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.