Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd Buys Shares of 172,365 Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB

Key Points

• Mirabaud Asset Management opened a new position in Itau Unibanco during the fourth quarter, buying 172,365 shares valued at about $1.234 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased or initiated stakes, while insiders were net sellers last quarter, including two notable sales that helped drive 292,277 shares sold by insiders overall.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally positive: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with a $9.00 target, even after Itau Unibanco missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates.

Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 172,365 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,234,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Drive Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Itau Unibanco in the fourth quarter valued at about $73,000. Ethic Inc. grew its position in Itau Unibanco by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 188,661 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,351,000 after acquiring an additional 34,153 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Itau Unibanco by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 35,716 shares of the bank's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 6,146 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in Itau Unibanco by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 64,213 shares of the bank's stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 5,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 67,901 shares of the bank's stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,080 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Itau Unibanco

In related news, insider Fajerman Sergio Guillinet sold 39,477 shares of the company'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 sale, the insider directly owned 1,205,642 shares in the company, valued at $11,489,768.26. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Rodrigues Andre Luis Teixeira sold 182,800 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,637,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,442,847.02. The trade was a 10.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 292,277 shares of company stock worth $2,646,512 over the last quarter. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Itau Unibanco Stock Performance

NYSE:ITUB opened at $8.38 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $92.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 8.79, a quick ratio of 8.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61. The stock's 50-day moving average is $8.58 and its 200-day moving average is $8.01. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 1-year low of $5.93 and a 1-year high of $9.60.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.41 billion. Itau Unibanco had a return on equity of 29.45% and a net margin of 27.27%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Itau Unibanco Announces Dividend

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

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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