Blue Trust Inc. Has $136,000 Stock Position in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Blue Trust Inc. cut its position in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 41.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,399 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 19,656 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITUB. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 12,592.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,484,343 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $156,171,000 after buying an additional 23,299,313 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,685,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 6.1% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 50,587,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $336,408,000 after acquiring an additional 2,886,508 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 5.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,829,515 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $338,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,604,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Itaú Unibanco by 38.8% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,367,875 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779,300 shares during the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:ITUB opened at $5.73 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $4.86 and a 1-year high of $7.07. The firm 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. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $5.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.96.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts expect that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.058 per share. This is a boost from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on ITUB shares. UBS Group upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Itaú Unibanco from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research 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 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Itaú Unibanco has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.