Carmignac Gestion Purchases 1,477,637 Shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB

Key Points

• Carmignac Gestion increased its Itau Unibanco stake by 20.7% in the first quarter, purchasing 1.48 million shares and bringing its total holdings to 8.63 million shares worth approximately $72.3 million.
• Itau Unibanco reported quarterly EPS of $0.20, below the $0.22 consensus estimate, while revenue of $9.01 billion also missed expectations. Analysts nevertheless maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $10.
• The bank announced a special dividend of $0.068 per share, and its stock was trading at $8.47, near the middle of its 52-week range of $6.00 to $9.60.

Carmignac Gestion boosted its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 20.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,630,222 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 1,477,637 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco comprises 1.1% of Carmignac Gestion's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Carmignac Gestion owned approximately 0.08% of Itau Unibanco worth $72,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ITUB. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Itau Unibanco during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 5,355 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Itau Unibanco by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,642 shares of the bank's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Itau Unibanco in the first quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Itau Unibanco by 486.0% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 8,966 shares of the bank's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 7,436 shares during the period.

Itau Unibanco Stock Up 0.2%

ITUB opened at $8.47 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $93.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $8.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.36. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a twelve month low of $6.00 and a twelve month high of $9.60.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The bank reported $0.20 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $9.41 billion. Itau Unibanco had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 21.27%. Equities 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 announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be paid a $0.068 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. Itau Unibanco's payout ratio is 4.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Vanzo Carlos Orestes sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.24, for a total value of $494,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,008,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,306,035.36. The trade was a 5.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ITUB shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Itau Unibanco from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.00.

Itau Unibanco Company 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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