ABN Amro Investment Solutions Purchases 998,999 Shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB

Key Points

• ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its Itaú Unibanco stake by 72.5% in the first quarter, buying 998,999 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 2,376,967 shares worth about $19.9 million.
• Several other major investors also increased positions in ITUB, while analysts remain mostly constructive: JPMorgan raised its target to $10 and the stock carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating.
• Itaú Unibanco recently reported Q1 earnings below expectations but also declared a special dividend of $0.068 per share, and the stock was trading near $8.38 with a market cap of about $92.9 billion.

ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its position in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 72.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,376,967 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 998,999 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions' holdings in Itau Unibanco were worth $19,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 96,959,405 shares of the bank's stock worth $694,229,000 after purchasing an additional 5,737,696 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 104.3% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 84,543,938 shares of the bank's stock worth $574,053,000 after acquiring an additional 43,153,787 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 63,525,566 shares of the bank's stock worth $454,843,000 after acquiring an additional 2,394,121 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 58,581,150 shares of the bank's stock worth $419,441,000 after acquiring an additional 956,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Itau Unibanco by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 43,540,350 shares of the bank's stock valued at $311,749,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153,260 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ITUB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.00.

Itau Unibanco Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Itau Unibanco stock opened at $8.38 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $8.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 12-month low of $5.93 and a 12-month high of $9.60. The company has a market cap of $92.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.58.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The bank reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.41 billion. Itau Unibanco had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 21.27%. On average, equities analysts expect that Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Itau Unibanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a $0.068 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. Itau Unibanco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.11%.

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 dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.24, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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