Marshall Wace LLP Buys 1,099,433 Shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP)

Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) by 332.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,429,946 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,099,433 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Ultrapar Participações were worth $5,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in Ultrapar Participações by 128.2% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 66,631 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 37,436 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 57.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,450,300 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,581,000 after buying an additional 898,600 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 16.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 303,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,187,000 after buying an additional 43,258 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 30.3% during the second quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 15,046 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 3,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 27.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 441,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,726,000 after buying an additional 94,761 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Ultrapar Participações Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:UGP opened at $3.93 on Wednesday. Ultrapar Participações S.A. has a 52 week low of $3.39 and a 52 week high of $6.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $4.12 and its 200-day moving average is $4.54. The company has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 8.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.61.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.08. Ultrapar Participações had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 20.24%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Ultrapar Participações S.A. will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.0446 per share. This represents a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Ultrapar Participações’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on UGP. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. HSBC upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Ultrapar Participações from $5.90 to $5.20 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.20.

Ultrapar Participações 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.