GQG Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 33.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,269,375 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 2,302,211 shares during the quarter. GQG Partners LLC owned about 0.09% of Itaú Unibanco worth $45,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ITUB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 5.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,829,515 shares of the bank's stock valued at $338,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,604,304 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 6.1% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 50,587,633 shares of the bank's stock valued at $336,408,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886,508 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 39,658,215 shares of the bank's stock valued at $196,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,014 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,899,587 shares of the bank's stock worth $174,930,000 after acquiring an additional 346,390 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 12,592.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,484,343 shares of the bank's stock valued at $156,171,000 after purchasing an additional 23,299,313 shares during the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE ITUB traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.52. 13,791,612 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,588,458. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 12-month low of $4.42 and a 12-month high of $6.30. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.31. The firm has a market cap of $59.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.07, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 12.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS 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 issued 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 currently 2.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ITUB shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. HSBC raised Itaú Unibanco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $6.18 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised Itaú Unibanco from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Itaú Unibanco has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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.