Employees Retirement System of Texas Decreases Stock Holdings in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB

Key Points

• Employees Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in Itau Unibanco by 49.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 361,058 shares and leaving it with 370,217 shares valued at about $2.65 million.
• Several other institutional investors adjusted their positions too, with firms like Goldman Sachs, Royal Bank of Canada, and First Trust Advisors increasing holdings in the Brazilian bank.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but still constructive: JPMorgan raised its target to $9 and kept an overweight rating, while Zacks downgraded the stock to hold; the consensus view is currently Moderate Buy with a $9 average price target.

Employees Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 49.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 370,217 shares of the bank's stock after selling 361,058 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Itau Unibanco were worth $2,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 445,578 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,450,000 after purchasing an additional 46,608 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Itau Unibanco by 28.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,996,699 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,482,000 after buying an additional 1,107,607 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 buying an additional 5,355 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 12,442 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Itau Unibanco by 425.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 356,467 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 288,602 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Itau Unibanco from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research lowered Itau Unibanco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Itau Unibanco currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $9.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rodrigues Andre Luis Teixeira sold 182,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total value of $1,612,296.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,637,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,442,847.02. This trade represents a 10.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Fajerman Sergio Guillinet sold 50,000 shares of Itau Unibanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.38, for a total transaction of $469,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,265,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,866,816.22. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 292,277 shares of company stock worth $2,646,512. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Itau Unibanco Stock Up 0.2%

Itau Unibanco stock opened at $7.96 on Thursday. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 12 month low of $5.93 and a 12 month high of $9.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The firm has a market cap of $88.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Itau Unibanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.068 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 23rd. Itau Unibanco's payout ratio is presently 4.11%.

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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