United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Given New $82.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $82.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential downside of 28.73% from the company’s previous close.

UPS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America lowered their price target on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird downgraded United Parcel Service from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Argus raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.67.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $115.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.61. United Parcel Service has a fifty-two week low of $109.62 and a fifty-two week high of $158.95. The company has a market capitalization of $98.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.00.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. Analysts expect that United Parcel Service will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service 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 transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parcel Service

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UPS. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after purchasing an additional 613,409 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after buying an additional 1,320,921 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after acquiring an additional 373,202 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after acquiring an additional 380,229 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is 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.