Earnest Partners LLC Trims Stake in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Earnest Partners LLC cut its stake in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,410,097 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 32,548 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $8,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 129,211 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 21,067 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 214,070 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,488,000 after buying an additional 110,493 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 499,419 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,471,000 after acquiring an additional 54,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carmignac Gestion purchased a new position in Itaú Unibanco during the 4th quarter valued at about $92,644,000.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of Itaú Unibanco stock opened at $6.76 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 52-week low of $5.12 and a 52-week high of $7.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.97.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The bank reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.01. Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $16.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.0031 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. Itaú Unibanco’s payout ratio is currently 48.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ITUB. UBS Group lowered shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Itaú Unibanco from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.05.

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.