Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB Stake Lifted by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 6.7% during Q1, now owning 24,592,740 shares valued at approximately $135.26 million.
• Itau Unibanco reported a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 14.05% for the last quarter, with an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.18.
• The bank has declared a modest dividend of $0.0024 per share, representing a high yield of 43%, despite a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,592,740 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 1,549,003 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Itau Unibanco worth $135,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Natural Investments LLC increased its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 9.1% during the first quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 97,936 shares of the bank's stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 8,192 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Itau Unibanco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $328,000. Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 222.8% during the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 155,795 shares of the bank's stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 107,527 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 140,362 shares of the bank's stock worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 10,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barings LLC raised its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Barings LLC now owns 1,514,547 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,330,000 after purchasing an additional 137,686 shares during the last quarter.

Itau Unibanco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITUB traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $6.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,919,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,575,389. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.13. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 52 week low of $4.42 and a 52 week high of $7.13.

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

Itau Unibanco Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.0024 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 43.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 2nd. Itau Unibanco's payout ratio is currently 33.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Itau Unibanco currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.