Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. $GGAL Shares Purchased by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL) by 215.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,514 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 81,670 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A. owned 0.08% of Grupo Financiero Galicia worth $3,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GGAL. Monaco Asset Management SAM purchased a new stake in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $413,000. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. purchased a new stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia during the third quarter worth $752,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its holdings in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 217.4% in the third quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 17,096 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 11,710 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 10,128.5% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 122,947 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,388,000 after buying an additional 121,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 131.6% in 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGAL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Citigroup upgraded Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Grupo Financiero Galicia from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Grupo Financiero Galicia in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Grupo Financiero Galicia currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.50.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Price Performance

NASDAQ:GGAL opened at $44.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.85. Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. has a 1-year low of $25.89 and a 1-year high of $66.24.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.1541 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is a positive change from Grupo Financiero Galicia’s previous monthly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Grupo Financiero Galicia’s payout ratio is 88.38%.

Grupo Financiero Galicia 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.