Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Position Cut by NS Partners Ltd

NS Partners Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 38.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,484,953 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,532,900 shares during the quarter. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $12,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new position in Itaú Unibanco during the third quarter worth about $1,215,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 7.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,522,486 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,899,000 after acquiring an additional 861,500 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 5.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,829,515 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $338,016,000 after acquiring an additional 2,604,304 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Itaú Unibanco by 23.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 25,586 shares of the bank’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 4,823 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Itaú Unibanco by 1.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,899,587 shares of the bank’s stock worth $174,930,000 after purchasing an additional 346,390 shares during the period.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Up 0.1 %

ITUB stock opened at $5.68 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.28, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 1-year low of $4.86 and a 1-year high of $7.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 19.46%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.058 dividend. This is an increase from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Itaú Unibanco’s payout ratio is presently 2.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITUB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.80 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.90.

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.