Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its stake in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 75.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,650 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 33,500 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $53,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deltec Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 73.7% during the 4th quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC now owns 115,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 49,000 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,027,679 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,501,000 after acquiring an additional 27,318 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 44,738 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 3,405 shares in the last quarter. Haven Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in Itaú Unibanco during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,284,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Itaú Unibanco during the 4th quarter valued at about $295,000.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ITUB opened at $6.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $59.74 billion, a PE ratio of 7.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.95. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 12 month low of $4.86 and a 12 month 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.96.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.76% and a net margin of 12.25%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.058 per share. This is a positive change from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is 3.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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