Cullen Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Cullen Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 61.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,061 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 48,746 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 168,458 shares of the bank’s stock worth $836,000 after buying an additional 47,798 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 28,389,460 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $140,812,000 after acquiring an additional 489,873 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 82.5% during the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 600,759 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,980,000 after acquiring an additional 271,550 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Itaú Unibanco by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 48,018,726 shares of the bank’s stock worth $238,173,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,282,897 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,363,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955 shares during the period.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Down 6.2 %

ITUB stock opened at $5.34 on Friday. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $4.42 and a fifty-two week high of $6.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.35 and a 200-day moving average of $5.29. The company has a market capitalization of $57.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.85, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last posted 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 return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 12.25%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current 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. This is a boost from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Itaú Unibanco’s payout ratio is presently 2.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ITUB shares. HSBC raised shares of 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Four investment 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.