Zuckerman Investment Group LLC Buys Shares of 7,638 United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,638 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $963,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $8,213,699,000 after purchasing an additional 370,705 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,979,695,000 after acquiring an additional 414,710 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,384,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,895,828 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,373,964,000 after acquiring an additional 268,278 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. StockNews.com cut United Parcel Service from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Baird R W downgraded United Parcel Service from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded United Parcel Service from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $147.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.32.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of UPS traded up $0.39 on Friday, reaching $96.95. The stock had a trading volume of 5,542,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,808,906. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.55 and a twelve month high of $153.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $112.11 and a 200 day moving average of $123.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is an increase from United Parcel Service's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.04%.

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.