Marshall Wace LLP Increases Stock Position in Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP - Free Report) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,821,125 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 444,724 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.25% of Ultrapar Participações worth $7,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 19,705 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 3,688 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,609 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 5,687 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 31,534 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 6,882 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 27,813 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 9,220 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 48,712 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 10,037 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UGP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $4.10 to $3.20 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two 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 MarketBeat.com, Ultrapar Participações presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $3.20.

Ultrapar Participações Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of UGP stock traded up $0.01 on Monday, hitting $3.21. 984,405 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,635,276. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ultrapar Participações S.A. has a one year low of $2.53 and a one year high of $5.37. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $2.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.10.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.0774 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Ultrapar Participações's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Ultrapar Participações 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.