Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its stake in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 35.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 79,360 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 43,506 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 2,604,304 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Itaú Unibanco by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 50,587,633 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $336,408,000 after acquiring an additional 2,886,508 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 1.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,899,587 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $174,930,000 after purchasing an additional 346,390 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 12,592.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,484,343 shares of the bank’s stock worth $156,171,000 after buying an additional 23,299,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd boosted its position in Itaú Unibanco by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 13,681,494 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,860,000 after buying an additional 51,688 shares during the period.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Up 2.4 %

Itaú Unibanco stock opened at $5.80 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $5.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.98. The stock has a market cap of $56.80 billion, a PE ratio of 7.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 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 $7.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.0029 per share. This is a boost from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. Itaú Unibanco’s payout ratio is presently 3.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ITUB. HSBC upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.80 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Itaú Unibanco from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Itaú Unibanco has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.