Barings LLC Lowers Stake in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB

Key Points

• Barings LLC cut its Itau Unibanco stake by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 242,505 shares and leaving it with 891,821 shares valued at about $6.39 million.
• Itau Unibanco shares rose 3.8% to $7.91, and the stock currently trades below its 1-year high of $9.60 but above its 1-year low of $5.93.
• The bank missed last quarter’s earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $0.20 versus $0.22 expected and revenue of $9.01 billion versus $9.41 billion expected, while analysts still hold a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $9.00 price target.

Barings LLC reduced its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 891,821 shares of the bank's stock after selling 242,505 shares during the quarter. Barings LLC's holdings in Itau Unibanco were worth $6,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ITUB. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 11.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 445,578 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,450,000 after purchasing an additional 46,608 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Itau Unibanco by 28.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,996,699 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107,607 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 5,355 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in Itau Unibanco by 11.7% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 118,405 shares of the bank's stock worth $804,000 after acquiring an additional 12,442 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Itau Unibanco by 425.3% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 356,467 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 288,602 shares during the period.

Itau Unibanco Stock Up 3.8%

NYSE:ITUB opened at $7.91 on Friday. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 1-year low of $5.93 and a 1-year high of $9.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $8.34 and a 200 day moving average of $8.12. The firm has a market cap of $87.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

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

Itau Unibanco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.068 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. Itau Unibanco's payout ratio is 65.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ITUB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Itau Unibanco from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Itau Unibanco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $9.00.

Insider Activity at Itau Unibanco

In related news, insider Fajerman Sergio Guillinet sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.38, for a total transaction of $469,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,265,119 shares in the company, valued at $11,866,816.22. The trade was a 3.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Rodrigues Andre Luis Teixeira sold 182,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total transaction of $1,612,296.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,637,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,442,847.02. This trade represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 292,277 shares of company stock valued at $2,646,512. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ITUB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report).

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.