Sava Infond d.o.o. Takes Position in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Sava Infond d.o.o. bought a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 126,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $625,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITUB. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. now owns 627,739 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 130,000 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 9,269,375 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,976,000 after buying an additional 2,302,211 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 373,234 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,851,000 after buying an additional 80,747 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,009,983 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,890,000 after acquiring an additional 274,750 shares during the period. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 198.4% in the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 125,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 83,320 shares during the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of ITUB opened at $5.60 on Friday. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 12 month low of $4.42 and a 12 month high of $6.35. The stock has a market cap of $60.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 19.46%. Equities analysts predict that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ITUB. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group raised Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC raised Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.18 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.