NS Partners Ltd Sells 1,532,900 Shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

NS Partners Ltd reduced its position in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 38.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,484,953 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,532,900 shares during the quarter. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $12,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 14,941 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 68.5% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,071 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 2,469 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 7.3% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 104,566 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 7,071 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 1.5% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 303,181 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after acquiring an additional 4,485 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 3.4% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 483,231 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,214,000 after purchasing an additional 15,790 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on ITUB shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.80 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $6.90.

Itaú Unibanco Price Performance

NYSE:ITUB opened at $5.68 on Friday. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a one year low of $4.86 and a one year high of $7.04. 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 $55.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.28, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.90.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 12.25%. Research 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 disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.058 dividend. This is an increase from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.56%.

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.