Prudential Financial Inc. Reduces Position in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its stake in shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI - Free Report) by 55.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,989 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 79,540 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in UGI were worth $1,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE bought a new stake in shares of UGI in the fourth quarter worth about $3,910,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in UGI in the 4th quarter valued at $113,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in UGI by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 398,820 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,259,000 after buying an additional 87,739 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of UGI during the fourth quarter valued at $2,378,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of UGI by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 68,729 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,940,000 after purchasing an additional 26,317 shares during the period. 82.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UGI Stock Up 3.8 %

UGI stock traded up $1.15 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.33. 3,851,424 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,267,856. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.80. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.00. UGI Co. has a 12 month low of $22.01 and a 12 month high of $34.49.

UGI (NYSE:UGI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.16. UGI had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 7.73%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UGI Co. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. UGI's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.06%.

Insider Transactions at UGI

In other UGI news, insider Michael Sharp purchased 4,806 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.30 per share, for a total transaction of $160,039.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,806 shares of the company's stock, valued at $160,039.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

UGI Profile

UGI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, distributes, stores, transports, and markets energy products and related services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: AmeriGas Propane, UGI International, Midstream & Marketing, and UGI Utilities. It distributes propane to approximately 1.3 million residential, commercial/industrial, motor fuel, agricultural, and wholesale customers through 1,400 propane distribution locations.