Vontobel Holding Ltd. Buys 6,501 Shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 38.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,478 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,501 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 68.5% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,071 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 2,469 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $68,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Performance

NYSE:ITUB opened at $5.73 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.42 and a 200 day moving average of $5.96. The company has a market capitalization of $56.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.34, a PEG ratio of 0.89 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 $7.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 19.46%. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.058 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco’s payout ratio is presently 73.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on ITUB shares. HSBC raised Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.80 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Itaú Unibanco from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average 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.