Signaturefd LLC Increases Position in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 4,000.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,260 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 11,961 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $61,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 69,264 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 9,996 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the third quarter valued at $81,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 72,647 shares of the bank’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 17,216 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 50,587,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $336,408,000 after buying an additional 2,886,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $925,000.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ITUB opened at $5.61 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $60.43 billion, a PE ratio of 7.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 12 month low of $4.42 and a 12 month high of $6.35.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.17 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.0527 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is 2.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITUB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC raised Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.18 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four equities 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $6.27.

About Itaú 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.