Anthracite Investment Company Inc. Buys 130,000 Shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Anthracite Investment Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 26.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 627,739 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 130,000 shares during the period. Itaú Unibanco accounts for 1.1% of Anthracite Investment Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Anthracite Investment Company Inc.’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $3,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ITUB. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 4,000.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 11,961 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the third quarter worth $68,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the third quarter worth $81,000. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.18 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group raised Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $6.27.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ITUB opened at $5.69 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.31. 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 Holding S.A. has a 12 month low of $4.42 and a 12 month high of $6.35. The company has a market cap of $61.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.29, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.17 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders 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 an increase from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.82%.

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.