Simplicity Solutions LLC Trims Stake in Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP)

Simplicity Solutions LLC reduced its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) by 74.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,782 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 33,715 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Ultrapar Participações were worth $64,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participações during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Ultrapar Participações by 254.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,796 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,162 shares in the last quarter. Vident Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Ultrapar Participações in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. AXA S.A. purchased a new position in Ultrapar Participações in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Ultrapar Participações by 128.7% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,176 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 5,727 shares in the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Itau BBA Securities lowered shares of Ultrapar Participações from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Ultrapar Participações from $5.30 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.37.

Ultrapar Participações Stock Performance

Ultrapar Participações stock opened at $5.15 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.26. Ultrapar Participações S.A. has a twelve month low of $2.74 and a twelve month high of $6.34.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The oil and gas company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $6.75 billion during the quarter. Ultrapar Participações had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 18.86%. Research analysts expect that Ultrapar Participações S.A. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Ultrapar Participações Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.0723 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This is an increase from Ultrapar Participações’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a yield of 2%. Ultrapar Participações’s payout ratio is currently 31.11%.

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.