Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. $UGP Shares Newly Purchased by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

Key Points

• TD Waterhouse Canada purchased 150,707 Ultrapar Participacoes shares worth approximately $1.1 million in the third quarter, while institutional investors collectively own 3.58% of the company.
• Ultrapar’s CFO and CEO sold shares recently; insiders have sold 77,785 shares worth about $587,000 over the past 90 days, reducing insider ownership to 1.80%.
• UGP shares opened at $7.79, near their 12-month high of $8.28. The company slightly exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, and analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus despite mixed rating changes.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 150,707 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $1,108,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Ultrapar Participacoes in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,704,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 235.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 927,216 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,109,000 after acquiring an additional 650,988 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 10.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,740,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $20,611,000 after acquiring an additional 357,922 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 42.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 945,625 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,210,000 after purchasing an additional 282,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 419.7% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 257,957 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 208,319 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ultrapar Participacoes

In other Ultrapar Participacoes news, CFO Andre Saleme Hachem sold 39,200 shares of Ultrapar Participacoes stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.67, for a total transaction of $300,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,927.25. The trade was a 60.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Decio De Sampaio Amaral sold 8,000 shares of Ultrapar Participacoes stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.93, for a total transaction of $55,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,049,423.76. This represents a 5.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 77,785 shares of company stock worth $587,312 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Ultrapar Participacoes Price Performance

Shares of UGP stock opened at $7.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.71. Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. has a 12 month low of $3.60 and a 12 month high of $8.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $7.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.24.

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

Ultrapar Participacoes Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on UGP. Bank of America raised shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $6.80 to $7.40 in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank downgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a "sector outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.20 to $7.90 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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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