2,083,100 Shares in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB Acquired by NS Partners Ltd

Key Points

• NS Partners Ltd acquired 2,083,100 shares of Itaú Unibanco during the second quarter, worth approximately $17.0 million. Several other investment firms also increased or initiated positions in the bank.
• Itaú Unibanco reported quarterly EPS of $0.21, slightly below the $0.22 consensus estimate, while revenue of $9.27 billion was also narrowly below expectations. The stock opened at $7.61, compared with a 52-week range of $6.54 to $9.60.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a $10.00 consensus price target. JPMorgan raised its target to $10.00 and maintained an “overweight” rating, although an insider separately sold 60,000 shares.

NS Partners Ltd bought a new position in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,083,100 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $17,019,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Itau Unibanco during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Itau Unibanco by 332.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,966 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 5,355 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Itau Unibanco by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,642 shares of the bank's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Itau Unibanco during the first quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Itau Unibanco by 486.0% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 8,966 shares of the bank's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 7,436 shares during the last quarter.

Itau Unibanco Stock Performance

Shares of ITUB stock opened at $7.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.58. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $6.54 and a fifty-two week high of $9.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.27.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The bank reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.29 billion. Itau Unibanco had a return on equity of 21.40% and a net margin of 26.41%. Analysts expect that Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ITUB shares. Weiss Ratings cut Itau Unibanco from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Itau Unibanco from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Itau Unibanco

In other news, insider Vanzo Carlos Orestes sold 60,000 shares of Itau Unibanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.24, for a total value of $494,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,008,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,306,035.36. This trade represents a 5.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Itau Unibanco Profile

Itaú Unibanco SA NYSE: ITUB is a Brazilian banking and financial services conglomerate headquartered in São Paulo. The company was formed by the merger of Banco Itaú and Unibanco in 2008 and is one of the largest private-sector banks in Brazil and among the leading banks in Latin America. Itaú Unibanco is publicly listed in Brazil and maintains an international listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

The bank offers a full range of financial products and services across retail, commercial and wholesale banking.

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