Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Boosts Stock Holdings in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 207,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,636 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in UGI were worth $5,852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in UGI by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 313,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,000 after purchasing an additional 22,752 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of UGI in the third quarter worth about $278,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in UGI by 10.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 630,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,614,000 after acquiring an additional 61,265 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in UGI by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 495,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,390,000 after acquiring an additional 2,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in UGI by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,227,732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,718,000 after purchasing an additional 318,655 shares in the last quarter. 82.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at UGI

In other UGI news, insider Michael Sharp acquired 4,806 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $33.30 per share, for a total transaction of $160,039.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $160,039.80. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UGI Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of UGI stock opened at $33.45 on Friday. UGI Co. has a 1-year low of $22.01 and a 1-year high of $34.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.75.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that UGI Co. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. UGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.06%.

About UGI

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.