First Eagle Investment Management LLC Has $20.01 Million Stake in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB

Key Points

• First Eagle Investment Management boosted its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 2,793,981 shares valued at about $20.0 million.
• Itaú Unibanco reported missed quarterly earnings, posting $0.20 EPS versus the $0.22 estimate, while revenue also came in below expectations at $9.01 billion.
• The bank announced a special dividend of $0.068 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $9.00.

First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,793,981 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 302,668 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC's holdings in Itau Unibanco were worth $20,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 51,326 shares of the bank's stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,521 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 12,022 shares of the bank's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,642 shares of the bank's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,901 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 65,655 shares of the bank's stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 1,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 67,901 shares of the bank's stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 2,080 shares during the last quarter.

Itau Unibanco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITUB opened at $8.18 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 8.79, a current ratio of 8.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.03. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a twelve month low of $5.93 and a twelve month high of $9.60. The company has a market cap of $90.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.63.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The bank reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.02). Itau Unibanco had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 29.45%. The company had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.41 billion. Research analysts predict that Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Itau Unibanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 23rd will be given a $0.068 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 23rd. Itau Unibanco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Itau Unibanco news, insider Fajerman Sergio Guillinet sold 39,477 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.53, for a total value of $376,215.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,205,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,489,768.26. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Rodrigues Andre Luis Teixeira sold 182,800 shares of the firm'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 value of $1,612,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,637,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,442,847.02. This represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 292,277 shares of company stock valued at $2,646,512 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ITUB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Itau Unibanco from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research downgraded Itau Unibanco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Two 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $9.00.

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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