Ramirez Asset Management Inc. Acquires 15,955 Shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,282,897 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,955 shares during the period. Itaú Unibanco accounts for about 1.3% of Ramirez Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Ramirez Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $6,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ITUB. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 12,592.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,484,343 shares of the bank’s stock worth $156,171,000 after acquiring an additional 23,299,313 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter worth $40,685,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Itaú Unibanco by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,829,515 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $338,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,604,304 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 9,269,375 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,976,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 38.8% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,367,875 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,346,000 after buying an additional 1,779,300 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.18 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Hsbc Global Res raised Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.27.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Down 0.4 %

Itaú Unibanco stock opened at $5.60 on Friday. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $4.42 and a fifty-two week high of $6.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.31. The stock has a market cap of $60.32 billion, a PE ratio of 7.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 12.25%. Research analysts predict that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.0527 per share. This is a boost from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Itaú Unibanco’s payout ratio is presently 2.82%.

Itaú Unibanco Profile

Itaú Unibanco Holding SA offers a range of financial products and services to individuals and corporate customers in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking, and Activities with the Market + Corporation. It offers current account; loans; credit and debit cards; investment and commercial banking services; real estate lending services; financing and investment services; economic, financial and brokerage advisory; and leasing and foreign exchange services.