Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB Stock Position Lifted by William Blair Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. by 51.9%, now owning approximately 29.3 million shares valued at $198.86 million.
• Itau Unibanco recently declared a monthly dividend of $0.0454, marking an increase from its prior dividend and representing a 7.8% annualized yield.
• Research analysts have mixed ratings on Itau Unibanco, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and recent upgrades from Zacks Research increasing its rating to a "strong-buy."

William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 51.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,278,462 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 10,002,310 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.27% of Itau Unibanco worth $198,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fielder Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Itau Unibanco by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 18,816 shares of the bank's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 1,710 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 19,916 shares of the bank's stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,930 shares during the period. Hamilton Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 16,081 shares of the bank's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 2,163 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 31.7% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,195 shares of the bank's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 2,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 21.6% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,890 shares of the bank's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 2,468 shares during the period.

Itau Unibanco Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Itau Unibanco stock opened at $6.94 on Friday. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 12-month low of $4.42 and a 12-month high of $7.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.82 billion, a PE ratio of 9.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The stock's fifty day moving average is $7.03 and its 200-day moving average is $6.58.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 14.05%.The firm had revenue of $7.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.75 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Itau Unibanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a $0.0454 dividend. This is a boost from Itau Unibanco's previous monthly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.8%. Itau Unibanco's payout ratio is currently 4.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Itau Unibanco from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Itau Unibanco presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.27.

About Itau Unibanco

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.

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