Bank of New York Mellon Corp Boosts Stake in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 27.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 167,646 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 35,994 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $68,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $81,000. Freedom Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Itaú Unibanco by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITUB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, HSBC raised Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.18 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Itaú Unibanco currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $6.27.

Itaú Unibanco Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE ITUB opened at $5.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.34 billion, a PE ratio of 7.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.31. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 52 week low of $4.42 and a 52 week high of $6.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

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

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.0527 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is 2.82%.

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.