Renaissance Technologies LLC Raises Holdings in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 75.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,955,677 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 4,694,303 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Itaú Unibanco worth $54,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Itaú Unibanco during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Itaú Unibanco by 4,000.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,260 shares of the bank's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 11,961 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Itaú Unibanco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $68,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 16,935 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the bank's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC raised shares of Itaú Unibanco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $6.18 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Itaú Unibanco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $6.27.

Itaú Unibanco Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ITUB traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $5.57. 14,334,793 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,042,742. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $60.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.65. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 52-week low of $4.42 and a 52-week high of $6.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.25.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders 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 a positive change 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.