Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 32.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,318,501 shares of the bank's stock after selling 2,055,005 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $21,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 117.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 51,044,340 shares of the bank's stock valued at $253,180,000 after acquiring an additional 27,559,997 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 311.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,584,177 shares of the bank's stock worth $126,898,000 after buying an additional 19,365,644 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Itaú Unibanco during the 4th quarter worth about $71,054,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 10,955,677 shares of the bank's stock valued at $54,340,000 after purchasing an additional 4,694,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 48,018,726 shares of the bank's stock valued at $238,173,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151,459 shares during the last quarter.
Itaú Unibanco Price Performance
Shares of ITUB traded up $0.09 on Friday, reaching $6.73. The stock had a trading volume of 40,924,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,760,865. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.56 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.82 and a 200 day moving average of $5.33. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a twelve month low of $4.42 and a twelve month high of $6.73.
Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The bank reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.02. Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 12.25%. The company had revenue of $7.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.07 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.
Itaú Unibanco Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.0024 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Itaú Unibanco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.82%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Separately, UBS Group raised Itaú Unibanco from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $6.27.
View Our Latest Report on ITUB
Itaú Unibanco Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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