Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 388,397 Shares of Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. $UGP

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. by 16%, selling 388,397 shares and owning approximately 0.18% of the company worth $6.27 million.
• Ultrapar Participacoes received positive upgrades from analysts, with ratings shifting from "hold" to "strong-buy", and the stock now has an average target price of $3.20.
• The company recently announced a dividend of $0.0555 per share, reflecting a high dividend yield of 360% and a dividend payout ratio of 22.22%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,034,043 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 388,397 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.18% of Ultrapar Participacoes worth $6,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 55.6% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,463 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,380 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its position in Ultrapar Participacoes by 28.7% in the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 26,109 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 5,817 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 10.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 70,838 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 6,947 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 138,906 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 7,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 92.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,413 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 8,388 shares during the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Down 1.4%

Ultrapar Participacoes stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3.93. The stock had a trading volume of 372,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,824,353. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.82. Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $2.53 and a fifty-two week high of $4.05. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $3.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.11.

Ultrapar Participacoes Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a $0.0555 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 360.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. Ultrapar Participacoes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on UGP shares. Scotiabank upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ultrapar Participacoes presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $3.20.

Ultrapar Participacoes 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.