Anthracite Investment Company Inc. Grows Holdings in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Anthracite Investment Company Inc. lifted its stake in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 26.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 627,739 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 130,000 shares during the period. Itaú Unibanco comprises about 1.1% of Anthracite Investment Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Anthracite Investment Company Inc.’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $3,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITUB. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 9,269,375 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,976,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302,211 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 373,234 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,851,000 after purchasing an additional 80,747 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,009,983 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,890,000 after purchasing an additional 274,750 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 198.4% in the 4th quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 125,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 83,320 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,162,884 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,768,000 after buying an additional 38,924 shares in the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Performance

Shares of Itaú Unibanco stock opened at $5.69 on Wednesday. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a one year low of $4.42 and a one year high of $6.35. The company has a market capitalization of $61.34 billion, a PE ratio of 7.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.31.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 19.46%. Research analysts expect that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ITUB shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC raised shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.18 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $6.27.

About Itaú Unibanco

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.