Baillie Gifford & Co. Trims Stock Position in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Baillie Gifford & Co. lessened its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,280,586 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 275,789 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 0.09% of Itaú Unibanco worth $46,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,469 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Itaú Unibanco in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at $68,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new stake in Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at $81,000.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Performance

NYSE:ITUB opened at $6.10 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $4.86 and a fifty-two week high of $7.27. The stock has a market cap of $59.74 billion, a PE ratio of 7.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.96.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last posted its quarterly 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%. Analysts expect that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.058 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco’s payout ratio is currently 71.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on ITUB shares. HSBC upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.80 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group raised shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Itaú Unibanco from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Itaú Unibanco currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.90.

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.