Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,389,460 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 489,873 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Itaú Unibanco worth $140,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 12,592.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,484,343 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $156,171,000 after acquiring an additional 23,299,313 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Itaú Unibanco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,685,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Itaú Unibanco by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 48,018,726 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $238,173,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151,459 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,829,515 shares of the bank’s stock worth $338,016,000 after buying an additional 2,604,304 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,302,211 shares during the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Price Performance

Shares of ITUB stock opened at $5.54 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $5.33 and its 200 day moving average is $5.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The stock has a market cap of $59.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.10, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a twelve month low of $4.42 and a twelve month high of $6.30.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last released 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 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 announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.0527 per share. This is a positive change from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Itaú Unibanco has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.27.

Itaú Unibanco Company 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.