Raiffeisen Bank International AG Makes New Investment in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG has recently invested approximately $328,000 in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. by acquiring 59,401 shares during the first quarter.
• Itau Unibanco has experienced increased interest from multiple hedge funds, with several making notable adjustments to their positions, including Fielder Capital Group and Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp.
• The company reported earnings of $0.18 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.16, though it experienced a cut in dividend to $0.0024 per share, yielding 43.0%.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 59,401 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Itau Unibanco by 117.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 51,044,340 shares of the bank's stock valued at $253,180,000 after buying an additional 27,559,997 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 41,964,629 shares of the bank's stock worth $230,805,000 after purchasing an additional 2,306,414 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 16,621,005 shares of the bank's stock worth $82,440,000 after buying an additional 1,058,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 15,031,037 shares of the bank's stock worth $82,671,000 after buying an additional 1,349,543 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a research note on Thursday, July 10th.

Itau Unibanco Price Performance

NYSE:ITUB traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $6.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 28,042,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,978,540. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $4.42 and a fifty-two week high of $6.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a market capitalization of $73.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.55 and a 200-day moving average of $5.97.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The bank reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 19.48%. As a group, equities 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 will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.0024 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 43.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. Itau Unibanco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.23%.

Itau Unibanco 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.