Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stake in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its Itau Unibanco stake by 16% in the first quarter, adding 155,987 shares and bringing its holdings to 1.13 million shares valued at approximately $9.49 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Itau Unibanco receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $10.00 average price target; JPMorgan recently raised its target from $9.00 to $10.00.
• The bank reported quarterly EPS of $0.21, slightly below the $0.22 consensus estimate, while shares opened at $7.95 and recently declared a special dividend of $0.068 per share.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,132,049 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 155,987 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP's holdings in Itau Unibanco were worth $9,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ITUB. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Itau Unibanco during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 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 last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,901 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Itau Unibanco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 486.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 8,966 shares of the bank's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 7,436 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ITUB. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Itau Unibanco from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Itau Unibanco from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Itau Unibanco presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Itau Unibanco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITUB opened at $7.95 on Monday. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 1-year low of $6.39 and a 1-year high of $9.60. The company has a market cap of $88.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $8.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.39.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. Itau Unibanco had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 26.41%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Itau Unibanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.068 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. Itau Unibanco's dividend payout ratio is 3.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Itau Unibanco news, insider Vanzo Carlos Orestes sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.24, for a total value of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,008,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,306,035.36. This trade represents a 5.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

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.

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