Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 386,626 Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 386,626 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,918,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ITUB. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 11,961 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 16,935 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the bank's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter worth about $94,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HSBC raised Itaú Unibanco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $6.18 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Itaú Unibanco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Itaú Unibanco has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $6.27.

Itaú Unibanco Price Performance

Shares of ITUB stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $6.10. 17,167,236 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,170,710. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 52-week low of $4.42 and a 52-week high of $6.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $5.61 and a 200 day moving average of $5.28. The company has a market cap of $65.76 billion, a PE ratio of 7.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.76.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 19.46%. Research analysts anticipate that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Itaú Unibanco Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.0024 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Itaú Unibanco's payout ratio is presently 2.82%.

Itaú Unibanco Company 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.