Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Buys New Stake in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 20,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $100,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 68.5% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,071 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Itaú Unibanco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the third quarter worth $68,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the third quarter worth $70,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the third quarter valued at $81,000.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE ITUB opened at $5.70 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.95. The company has a market capitalization of $55.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.95. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 1 year low of $4.86 and a 1 year high of $7.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.058 dividend. This is a boost from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ITUB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Itaú Unibanco from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. HSBC raised Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.80 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group raised shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $6.90.

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.