WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB

Key Points

• WIM Investment Management increased its Itau Unibanco stake by 81.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 778,500 shares and bringing its total holding to 1.737 million shares worth about $12.4 million.
• Other major institutions also raised their positions in ITUB, including Goldman Sachs, Royal Bank of Canada, and First Trust Advisors, signaling continued institutional interest in the stock.
• Analysts remain mixed: Zacks downgraded the stock to Hold while JPMorgan lifted its target to $9.00 and kept an Overweight rating. The bank recently missed earnings and revenue estimates, and the shares were trading down 3.1% at $7.85.

WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 81.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,737,000 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 778,500 shares during the quarter. Itau Unibanco comprises 3.2% of WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd's holdings in Itau Unibanco were worth $12,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITUB. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Itau Unibanco by 11.7% during the 1st 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 during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Itau Unibanco by 28.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,996,699 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107,607 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Itau Unibanco by 332.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,966 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 5,355 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in Itau Unibanco by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 118,405 shares of the bank's stock worth $804,000 after acquiring an additional 12,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Itau Unibanco by 425.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 356,467 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 288,602 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Itau Unibanco

In related news, insider Fajerman Sergio Guillinet sold 39,477 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.53, for a total transaction of $376,215.81. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,205,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,489,768.26. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rodrigues Andre Luis Teixeira sold 182,800 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 292,277 shares of company stock worth $2,646,512 in the last 90 days. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Itau Unibanco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Itau Unibanco from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $9.00.

Itau Unibanco Trading Down 3.1%

ITUB opened at $7.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $86.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.63. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 12 month low of $5.93 and a 12 month high of $9.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 8.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.50 and a 200 day moving average of $8.04.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The bank reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.41 billion. Itau Unibanco had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 27.27%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Itau Unibanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.068 per share. 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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