Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Lowers Holdings in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP reduced its holdings in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 38.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,381 shares of the bank's stock after selling 115,800 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITUB. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 4,000.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,260 shares of the bank's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11,961 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Itaú Unibanco in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 16,935 shares of the bank's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on ITUB shares. 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 target price for the company in a research note 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Itaú Unibanco presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $6.27.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ITUB traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $6.10. The company had a trading volume of 17,167,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,170,710. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $5.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.28. 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 Holding S.A. has a 1-year low of $4.42 and a 1-year high of $6.37. The company has a market capitalization 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 19.46%. On average, analysts predict that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Itaú Unibanco Cuts Dividend

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

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.