Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC Buys 83,704 Shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Key Points

• Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC has increased its stake in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. by 25.7%, now holding approximately $2.25 million worth of the stock.
• Itau Unibanco recently declared a dividend of $0.0024 per share, yielding 43.0%, with a current dividend payout ratio of 32.39%.
• UBS Group maintains a neutral rating on Itau Unibanco, with analysts forecasting the company to post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 25.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 409,472 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 83,704 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco accounts for 0.5% of Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC's holdings in Itau Unibanco were worth $2,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ITUB. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 311.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,584,177 shares of the bank's stock worth $126,898,000 after purchasing an additional 19,365,644 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Itau Unibanco during the 4th quarter worth about $71,054,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 127.2% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 6,290,328 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,200,000 after purchasing an additional 3,521,518 shares in the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD purchased a new stake in Itau Unibanco during the 1st quarter worth about $17,826,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 495.7% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 2,897,014 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,369,000 after acquiring an additional 2,410,712 shares in the last quarter.

Itau Unibanco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITUB traded down $0.03 on Friday, hitting $6.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,279,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,632,070. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.04. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 1 year low of $4.42 and a 1 year high of $7.13. The company has a market capitalization of $74.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.84, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

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

Itau Unibanco Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.0024 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a dividend yield of 43.0%. Itau Unibanco's dividend payout ratio is 4.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a report on Thursday, July 10th.

Itau Unibanco Company 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.