Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Sells 2,500 Shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd cut its holdings in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 55,000 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 68.5% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,071 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 2,469 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $68,000. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ITUB. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Itaú Unibanco from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. HSBC upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.80 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $6.90.

Itaú Unibanco Price Performance

ITUB stock opened at $5.85 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 52-week low of $4.86 and a 52-week high of $7.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.96.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.76% and a net margin of 12.25%. Research analysts expect that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.058 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco’s payout ratio is presently 3.85%.

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.