SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. $GGAL

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL) by 10,128.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 122,947 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 121,745 shares during the quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Grupo Financiero Galicia were worth $3,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 131.6% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 938 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia during the third quarter valued at about $110,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $151,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia during the third quarter worth approximately $165,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 184.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,528 shares of the bank’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 2,289 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.25.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Price Performance

NASDAQ:GGAL opened at $48.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.16. Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $25.89 and a fifty-two week high of $67.54. The stock has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.33 and a beta of 1.44.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a $0.1455 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Grupo Financiero Galicia’s previous monthly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. Grupo Financiero Galicia’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.38%.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Company Profile

Grupo Financiero Galicia is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As one of the country’s largest private-sector financial institutions, the company provides a comprehensive suite of banking, insurance and investment products to individual, small-to-medium enterprise (SME) and corporate clients. Its operations span retail and commercial banking, asset management, leasing, factoring and pension fund administration.

The core banking segment offers deposit and lending services, credit and debit cards, payment solutions and digital banking platforms.