Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 81.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,572 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 37,529 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $1,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $8,213,699,000 after acquiring an additional 370,705 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 lifted its holdings in 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. lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,384,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484,452 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,895,828 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,373,964,000 after buying an additional 268,278 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer cut their target price on 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $124.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered United Parcel Service from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $120.26.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE UPS traded down $0.60 on Friday, reaching $97.50. The company had a trading volume of 6,763,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,146,066. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $98.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.55 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15. The firm has a market cap of $82.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.11. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. The business had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio is currently 95.63%.

United Parcel Service 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.