LPL Financial LLC Purchases 80,747 Shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 373,234 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 80,747 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $1,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ITUB. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Itaú Unibanco by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 27,876 shares of the bank's stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the bank's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Itaú Unibanco by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,556 shares of the bank's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,819 shares of the bank's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 3,089 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 44,738 shares of the bank's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 3,405 shares in the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Trading Up 1.2 %

ITUB stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5.66. 21,231,513 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,984,600. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 52-week low of $4.42 and a 52-week high of $6.30. The stock's fifty day moving average is $5.39 and its 200-day moving average is $5.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The company has a market cap of $60.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.65.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 12.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.0527 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Itaú Unibanco's previous dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco's payout ratio is presently 2.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Itaú Unibanco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $6.18 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.27.

Itaú 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.