USS Investment Management Ltd Purchases 252,596 Shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd has increased its stake in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. by 10.0%, now owning a total of 2,778,562 shares valued at approximately $15.27 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have also increased their holdings in Itau Unibanco, with AQR Capital Management notably growing its position by 212.8% in the same quarter.
• Itau Unibanco recently announced a monthly dividend of $0.0454 per share, representing a yield of 7.7%, marking a significant increase from its previous dividend of $0.00.

USS Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 10.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,778,562 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 252,596 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Itau Unibanco were worth $15,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 212.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,473,016 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,602,000 after buying an additional 1,682,354 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 84,206 shares of the bank's stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 11,670 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Itau Unibanco by 36.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,009,335 shares of the bank's stock valued at $11,433,000 after purchasing an additional 539,926 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its position in Itau Unibanco by 10.7% in the first quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 19,916 shares of the bank's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Itau Unibanco by 11.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 445,578 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,450,000 after purchasing an additional 46,608 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $6.27.

Itau Unibanco Price Performance

NYSE:ITUB opened at $7.10 on Friday. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 1-year low of $4.42 and a 1-year high of $7.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.86.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The bank reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18. Itau Unibanco had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $7.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.75 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itau Unibanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.0454 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.7%. This is a positive change from Itau Unibanco's previous monthly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Itau Unibanco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.23%.

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.

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