Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 5,687 Shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 371,298 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,687 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Ultrapar Participações were worth $976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 74.3% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,513,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497,300 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 763.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,374,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215,605 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,821,125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,420,000 after buying an additional 444,724 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 162.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 599,642 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,577,000 after buying an additional 370,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participações during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $374,000. Institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Ultrapar Participações Price Performance

UGP opened at $3.07 on Friday. Ultrapar Participações S.A. has a 12-month low of $2.53 and a 12-month high of $4.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.97. The company has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.13.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.0774 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. Ultrapar Participações’s payout ratio is currently 36.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UGP has been the topic of several research reports. HSBC upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $4.10 to $3.20 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ultrapar Participações has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $3.20.

Ultrapar Participações 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.