American Century Companies Inc. Buys 694,478 Shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Itau Unibanco by 17.3%, bringing its total shares to 4,704,461 valued at approximately $25.87 million.
• Other hedge funds, including GQG Partners and Bank of America Corp DE, significantly increased their stakes in Itau Unibanco, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Itau Unibanco's recent quarterly earnings met analyst estimates at $0.18 EPS, with revenue reported at $7.14 billion, falling short of estimates of $44.75 billion.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 17.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,704,461 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 694,478 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Itau Unibanco were worth $25,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fielder Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 18,816 shares of the bank's stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,710 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 22,000 shares of the bank's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,890 shares of the bank's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 2,468 shares in the last quarter. Ameraudi Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Ameraudi Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,665 shares of the bank's stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 2,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 68,922 shares of the bank's stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 2,694 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.27.

Itau Unibanco Price Performance

Shares of Itau Unibanco stock traded up $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $7.16. The stock had a trading volume of 9,215,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,560,617. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 1 year low of $4.42 and a 1 year high of $7.18. The company has a market cap of $77.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The business's 50 day moving average is $6.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.14.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The bank reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18. Itau Unibanco had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $7.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.75 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Itau Unibanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.0026 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Itau Unibanco's previous dividend of $0.00. This represents a dividend yield of 45.0%. Itau Unibanco's payout ratio is currently 33.80%.

Itau 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.