Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 112,096 Shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 145.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,329 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 112,096 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in Itaú Unibanco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,522,486 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,899,000 after acquiring an additional 861,500 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 5.4% during the 3rd 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. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 25,586 shares of the bank’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 4,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 346,390 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ITUB. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.80 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Itaú Unibanco has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.90.

Itaú Unibanco Trading Down 1.0 %

ITUB opened at $5.68 on Friday. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a twelve month low of $4.42 and a twelve month high of $6.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.68 and a 200-day moving average of $5.85. The stock has a market cap of $55.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 12.25%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.058 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.56%.

Itaú Unibanco 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.