Northcape Capital Pty Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Northcape Capital Pty Ltd boosted its position in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,954,549 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 713,430 shares during the quarter. Itaú Unibanco makes up approximately 7.4% of Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $62,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ITUB. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,654 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 341,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after buying an additional 22,726 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 92,255 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 13,020 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Itaú Unibanco during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 540,888 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,751,000 after buying an additional 40,332 shares during the period.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Performance

Shares of ITUB traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $6.91. The company had a trading volume of 4,626,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,378,311. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 52 week low of $4.54 and a 52 week high of $7.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $6.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.31.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.19. Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 10.48%. The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a $0.0036 dividend. This is a positive change from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. Itaú Unibanco’s payout ratio is presently 57.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITUB has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. HSBC lowered shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th.

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.