The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $479,000 Stock Position in Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 182,084 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 69,119 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Ultrapar Participações were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UGP. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 74.3% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,513,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,241,000 after buying an additional 1,497,300 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 763.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,374,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,616,000 after buying an additional 1,215,605 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 18.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,577,000 after buying an additional 370,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participações during the fourth quarter valued at about $374,000. 3.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ultrapar Participações Stock Performance

NYSE UGP opened at $3.10 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $3.02 and its 200-day moving average is $2.97. Ultrapar Participações S.A. has a 12-month low of $2.53 and a 12-month high of $4.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.13.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UGP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $4.10 to $3.20 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3.20.

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.