Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $80,000 Position in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) by 13.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,460 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Gerdau were worth $80,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Gerdau by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 53,736 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 4,657 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 840,148 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 5,424 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,032,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,974,000 after acquiring an additional 7,492 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gerdau Stock Up 1.4%

Gerdau stock opened at $2.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.38. Gerdau S.A. has a 1-year low of $2.27 and a 1-year high of $3.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a $0.0188 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.95%. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GGB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $2.90 to $3.80 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Monday, April 7th.

About Gerdau

Gerdau SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer company. The company operates through Brazil Business, North America Business, South America Business, and Special Steel Business segments. It also provides semi-finished products, including billets, blooms, and slabs; common long rolled products, such as rebars, wire rods, merchant bars, light shapes, and profiles to the construction and manufacturing industries; drawn products comprising barbed and barbless fence wires, galvanized wires, fences, concrete reinforcing wire mesh, nails, and clamps for manufacturing, construction, and agricultural industries; and special steel products used in auto parts, light and heavy vehicles, and agricultural machinery, as well as in the oil and gas, wind energy, machinery and equipment, mining and rail, and other markets.