Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB Shares Sold by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 2.3% in Q4, selling 229,511 shares and ending with 9,654,305 shares worth about $69.13 million (roughly 0.09% ownership).
• Insider sale: Rodrigues Andre Luis Teixeira sold 182,800 shares on April 8 at an average price of $8.82 (≈$1.61M), reducing his holding by 10.04%; insiders now own 0.61% of the company.
• Itaú missed quarterly estimates (EPS $0.17 vs. $0.20 expected) and revenue was below forecasts; the stock trades near $9, and the bank announced a special dividend of $0.068 per share payable Sept. 8.

Baillie Gifford & Co. lessened its holdings in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,654,305 shares of the bank's stock after selling 229,511 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned approximately 0.09% of Itau Unibanco worth $69,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 332.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,966 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 5,355 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Itau Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Itau Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 486.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 8,966 shares of the bank's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 7,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Itau Unibanco in the 4th quarter valued at $70,000.

Insider Transactions at Itau Unibanco

In related news, insider Rodrigues Andre Luis Teixeira sold 182,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total transaction of $1,612,296.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,637,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,442,847.02. This represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Itau Unibanco Price Performance

ITUB opened at $9.18 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $8.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.77. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 12-month low of $5.31 and a 12-month high of $9.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61. The firm has a market cap of $101.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.65.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.03). Itau Unibanco had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 20.64%.The firm had revenue of $8.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Itau Unibanco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.068 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 23rd. Itau Unibanco's dividend payout ratio is presently 4.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ITUB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered Itau Unibanco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Itau Unibanco from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Itau Unibanco presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $9.00.

About Itau Unibanco

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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