Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 386,626 Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 386,626 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,918,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 5.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,829,515 shares of the bank’s stock worth $338,016,000 after acquiring an additional 2,604,304 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 39,658,215 shares of the bank’s stock worth $196,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,014 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Itaú Unibanco by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,899,587 shares of the bank’s stock worth $174,930,000 after purchasing an additional 346,390 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 12,592.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,484,343 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $156,171,000 after purchasing an additional 23,299,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 13,681,494 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,860,000 after buying an additional 51,688 shares during the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Price Performance

NYSE:ITUB opened at $5.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $5.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.30. The firm has a market cap of $59.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. 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 $6.30.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders 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 (DPR) is 2.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ITUB shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC upgraded 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. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.