Virtu Financial LLC Purchases New Position in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A., purchasing 260,789 shares valued at approximately $1,434,000.
• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Itau Unibanco by 58.8%, now owning 585,013 shares, while Vanguard Group boosted its holding to 24,592,740 shares, reflecting heightened institutional interest.
• Itau Unibanco recently declared a $0.0024 dividend, leading to a yield of 43.0%, but also reported a net margin of only 14.05% in its latest earnings statement.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 260,789 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,434,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fielder Capital Group LLC raised its position in Itau Unibanco by 10.0% in the first quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 18,816 shares of the bank's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 10.0% in the first quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 22,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 21.6% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,890 shares of the bank's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,468 shares in the last quarter. Ameraudi Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Itau Unibanco by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Ameraudi Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,665 shares of the bank's stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 2,515 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 68,922 shares of the bank's stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 2,694 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Itau Unibanco Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Itau Unibanco stock traded down $0.04 on Thursday, reaching $6.98. 29,157,535 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,694,777. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $6.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.03. The company has a market cap of $75.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.74. 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 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The bank reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 year.

Itau Unibanco Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a dividend yield of 43.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 2nd. Itau Unibanco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.39%.

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.