Bank of America Corp DE Buys 11,771,394 Shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB

Key Points

• Bank of America more than doubled its Itau Unibanco stake in the second quarter, acquiring 11.77 million additional shares for a total holding of 22.29 million shares valued at approximately $182.1 million.
• Several other major institutional investors also increased their positions, while Itau Unibanco’s stock opened at $8.29 and traded within a 52-week range of $6.54 to $9.60.
• The bank slightly missed quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, but analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $10.00 average price target.

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 111.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,293,618 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 11,771,394 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.20% of Itau Unibanco worth $182,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position 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 buying an additional 2,394,121 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 36,551,763 shares of the bank's stock valued at $261,679,000 after purchasing an additional 7,081,568 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,465,077 shares of the bank's stock valued at $232,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925,708 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,359,075 shares of the bank's stock valued at $217,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in Itau Unibanco by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,336,855 shares of the bank's stock worth $95,492,000 after purchasing an additional 453,014 shares during the period.

Itau Unibanco Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:ITUB opened at $8.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $8.03 and a 200 day moving average of $8.17. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 52 week low of $6.54 and a 52 week high of $9.60.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on ITUB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Weiss Ratings cut Itau Unibanco from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Vanzo Orestes sold 74,643 shares of Itau Unibanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.38, for a total value of $625,508.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 933,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,821,648.98. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Itau Unibanco Profile

Itaú Unibanco Holding SA is one of Brazil's largest financial institutions and provides banking and financial services to individuals, companies and institutional clients. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgages, credit and debit cards, insurance, payment solutions, foreign exchange and investment products.

The company also operates businesses in investment banking, corporate and treasury services, asset management, private banking and wealth management.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.