Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Increases Stake in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) by 170.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,887,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,817,800 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.’s holdings in Gerdau were worth $10,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 11.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 88,979,025 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $311,427,000 after purchasing an additional 8,898,975 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Gerdau by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,005,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,825,000 after buying an additional 2,100,969 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Gerdau by 48.1% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 13,391,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,181,000 after acquiring an additional 4,351,666 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Gerdau in the third quarter valued at about $29,750,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Gerdau by 1,988.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,186,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,414,000 after purchasing an additional 5,889,913 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Gerdau Stock Performance

NYSE:GGB opened at $3.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.31. Gerdau S.A. has a 1-year low of $2.92 and a 1-year high of $4.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 1.73.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.0528 dividend. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.22%. Gerdau’s payout ratio is currently 43.64%.

Gerdau Profile

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.