American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 26,317 Shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 62.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 68,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,317 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in UGI were worth $1,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in UGI by 2,050.9% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,375,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,067,000 after purchasing an additional 2,265,300 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 33.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202,938 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of UGI by 35.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,227,732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,718,000 after buying an additional 318,655 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of UGI by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,797,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,748,000 after buying an additional 290,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in UGI by 1,232.3% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 291,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,032,000 after buying an additional 269,588 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael Sharp purchased 4,806 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.30 per share, for a total transaction of $160,039.80. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,039.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

UGI Stock Performance

NYSE UGI opened at $30.07 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.74. The firm has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.82. UGI Co. has a 1 year low of $22.01 and a 1 year high of $34.49.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.16. UGI had a net margin of 7.73% and a return on equity of 15.19%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that UGI Co. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.99%. 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.