Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB Shares Purchased by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. by 212.8%, acquiring an additional 1,682,354 shares to total 2,473,016 shares worth approximately $13.6 million.
• Several other large investors, including Parallel Advisors LLC and Alta Capital Management LLC, have significantly increased their holdings or established new positions in Itau Unibanco in the first quarter.
• Itau Unibanco's recent quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.18, meeting analysts' expectations, while the company also declared a new monthly dividend of $0.0454 per share.

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 212.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,473,016 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 1,682,354 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Itau Unibanco were worth $13,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ITUB. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 452,035 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,242,000 after acquiring an additional 98,591 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,350 shares of the bank's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 5,196 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Itau Unibanco by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,225,323 shares of the bank's stock worth $20,958,000 after purchasing an additional 181,025 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Itau Unibanco by 354.3% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 915,686 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,542,000 after purchasing an additional 714,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Itau Unibanco by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,215 shares of the bank's stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 4,218 shares in the last quarter.

Itau Unibanco Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of Itau Unibanco stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $7.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 30,031,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,967,758. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a twelve month low of $4.42 and a twelve month high of $7.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $6.70 and a 200-day moving average of $6.31. The stock has a market cap of $77.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.59.

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

Itau Unibanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.0454 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This is a positive change from Itau Unibanco's previous monthly dividend of $0.00. Itau Unibanco's dividend payout ratio is currently 4.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $6.27.

Itau Unibanco 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.