Simplicity Solutions LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP)

Simplicity Solutions LLC decreased its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) by 74.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,782 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 33,715 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Ultrapar Participações were worth $64,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participações during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 254.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,796 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 4,162 shares in the last quarter. Vident Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participações during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. AXA S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participações during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 128.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,176 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 5,727 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Ultrapar Participações Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UGP opened at $5.15 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.26. Ultrapar Participações S.A. has a 52-week low of $2.74 and a 52-week high of $6.34.

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

Ultrapar Participações Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Ultrapar Participações

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.