Legal & General Group Plc Sells 135,500 Shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP - Free Report) by 50.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,500 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 135,500 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc's holdings in Ultrapar Participações were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ultrapar Participações during the 4th quarter worth approximately $374,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Ultrapar Participações by 194.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 159,142 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 105,133 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,609 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 5,687 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 57,100 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 23,976 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,811,400 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,764,000 after acquiring an additional 115,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.58% of the company's stock.

Ultrapar Participações Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UGP traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $3.11. 1,173,742 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,644,357. Ultrapar Participações S.A. has a 1-year low of $2.53 and a 1-year high of $5.31. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 6.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $2.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.00.

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 paid a $0.0774 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. Ultrapar Participações's payout ratio is 33.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UGP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $4.10 to $3.20 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. HSBC upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ultrapar Participações has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.