Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 4,162 Shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lowered its position in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 26.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,422 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 4,162 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $57,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter worth about $68,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the third quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the third quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,556 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares during the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Price Performance

ITUB stock opened at $5.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.32 billion, a PE ratio of 7.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.34. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a one year low of $4.42 and a one year high of $6.35.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last posted its 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.0527 per share. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised 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 $6.18 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Itaú Unibanco has an average 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.