357,708 Shares of Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. $UGP Acquired by Diversify Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Diversify Advisory Services acquired 357,708 shares of Ultrapar Participacoes during the third quarter, valued at approximately $2.73 million. Other institutional investors also increased their positions, though institutional ownership remains relatively low at 3.58%.
• Ultrapar’s CEO and another insider sold a combined 38,000 shares in September, while insiders sold 77,785 shares worth $587,312 over the past 90 days.
• The stock opened at $7.79 after recently trading down 2.2%; the company beat quarterly EPS expectations, and analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus despite mixed rating changes and a $6.54 average price target.

Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 357,708 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $2,733,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 419.7% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 257,957 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 208,319 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Ultrapar Participacoes by 235.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 927,216 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,109,000 after purchasing an additional 650,988 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Ultrapar Participacoes during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,704,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,740,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $20,611,000 after purchasing an additional 357,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 945,625 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,210,000 after purchasing an additional 282,887 shares in the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Decio De Sampaio Amaral sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.93, for a total transaction of $55,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 151,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,049,423.76. This trade represents a 5.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Pedro Guedes Rabelo sold 30,000 shares of Ultrapar Participacoes stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total transaction of $227,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 57,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $438,866.84. This represents a 34.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 77,785 shares of company stock valued at $587,312 in the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ultrapar Participacoes Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:UGP opened at $7.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. has a 1 year low of $3.60 and a 1 year high of $8.28. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $7.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.24.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Ultrapar Participacoes had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 2.28%. The company had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.18 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Ultrapar Participacoes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.1932 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a yield of 599.0%. Ultrapar Participacoes's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UGP. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $6.80 to $7.40 in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a "sector outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $6.54.

Ultrapar Participacoes Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian holding company whose businesses focus on fuel distribution, liquefied petroleum gas and transportation infrastructure. Through its subsidiaries, the company serves commercial, industrial, retail and residential customers, primarily in Brazil.

Ipiranga is Ultrapar's fuel-distribution business, supplying gasoline, ethanol, diesel and other fuels through a network of service stations and commercial channels. Ultragaz distributes liquefied petroleum gas for household, commercial and industrial use, including bottled and bulk products.

Ultrapar also operates Ultracargo, a provider of liquid bulk storage and transportation infrastructure for fuels, chemicals and other products.

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