American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 108,213 Shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,776,107 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 108,213 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.16% of Ultrapar Participações worth $4,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 78.0% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 68,392 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 29,968 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 19,705 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 3,688 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Ultrapar Participações by 79.8% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,489 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 17,531 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 171.4% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,477 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 20,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 40,871 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 10,368 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 firms have recently weighed in on UGP. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $4.10 to $3.20 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. HSBC upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Scotiabank upgraded Ultrapar Participações to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $3.20.

Ultrapar Participações Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE UGP traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $2.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,526,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,611,531. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of 6.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.10. Ultrapar Participações S.A. has a one year low of $2.53 and a one year high of $5.52. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $2.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.0774 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a yield of 3.8%. Ultrapar Participações's 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.