Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Shares Acquired by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 198.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 125,310 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 83,320 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,162,884 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,768,000 after buying an additional 38,924 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 4,000.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 11,961 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Itaú Unibanco during the 4th quarter valued at $1,854,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 776,466 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,851,000 after purchasing an additional 126,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natural Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter worth $445,000.

Itaú Unibanco Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of ITUB opened at $5.68 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.85. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a twelve month low of $4.42 and a twelve month high of $6.35.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 12.25%. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.0527 dividend. This is a positive change from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ITUB shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded 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 objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.27.

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.