Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB Shares Bought by Earnest Partners LLC

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Itau Unibanco by 5.9%, holding 1,450,014 shares valued at approximately $7.98 million as of the latest quarter.
• Itau Unibanco announced a new dividend of $0.0026 per share, representing a yield of 45.0%, with payment scheduled for October 8th.
• Analysts have an average rating of "Buy" for Itau Unibanco, with a consensus price target of $6.27 per share.

Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,450,014 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 80,496 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC's holdings in Itau Unibanco were worth $7,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fielder Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Itau Unibanco by 10.0% in the first quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 18,816 shares of the bank's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 22,000 shares of the bank's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,890 shares of the bank's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 2,468 shares during the period. Ameraudi Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Ameraudi Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,665 shares of the bank's stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 2,515 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 68,922 shares of the bank's stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 2,694 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Itau Unibanco has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $6.27.

Itau Unibanco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITUB traded up $0.02 on Monday, reaching $7.13. 19,475,315 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,828,438. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 1-year low of $4.42 and a 1-year high of $7.18. The firm has a market cap of $76.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $6.64 and a 200-day moving average of $6.17.

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

Itau Unibanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.0454 per share. This is a boost from Itau Unibanco's previous monthly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. Itau Unibanco's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.80%.

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.