Bleakley Financial Group LLC Sells 33,715 Shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) by 74.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,782 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 33,715 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Ultrapar Participações were worth $64,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UGP. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 23.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 195,945 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 37,184 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 26.7% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,046,056 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,169,000 after acquiring an additional 220,678 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 4.5% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 247,607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 10,667 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 45.0% during the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 67,830 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 21,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in Ultrapar Participações during the first quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Ultrapar Participações Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UGP opened at $5.14 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $5.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.23. The company has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Ultrapar Participações S.A. has a twelve month low of $2.74 and a twelve month high of $6.34.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The oil and gas company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter. Ultrapar Participações had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 1.95%. The company had revenue of $6.75 billion for the quarter. On average, analysts predict that Ultrapar Participações S.A. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Ultrapar Participações Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.0723 dividend. This is an increase from Ultrapar Participações’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. Ultrapar Participações’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UGP has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Ultrapar Participações from $5.30 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com raised Ultrapar Participações from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities downgraded Ultrapar Participações from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ultrapar Participações presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.37.

Ultrapar Participações Company Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA, through its subsidiaries, operates in the energy and infrastructure business in Brazil. The company distributes liquefied petroleum gas to residential, commercial, and industrial consumers, in addition to renewable electricity and compressed natural gas. It also operates in the distribution and marketing of gasoline, ethanol, diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, natural gas for vehicles, and lubricants; and holds AmPm convenience stores and provides JetOil lubricant services.