Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Purchases 58,538 Shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 525.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,674 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,538 shares during the quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 227.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,567 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank bought a new position in Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Natixis bought a new stake in Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000.

Itaú Unibanco Price Performance

ITUB stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $6.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,764,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,391,736. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 1 year low of $4.54 and a 1 year high of $7.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $6.82 and its 200-day moving average is $6.31.

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

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.0036 per share. This is an increase from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ITUB. HSBC downgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Bank of America upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th.

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.