Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 394,134 Shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,300,457 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 394,134 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $31,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 68.5% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,071 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 2,469 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Itaú Unibanco during the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Itaú Unibanco during the 3rd quarter valued at $68,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Itaú Unibanco during the 3rd quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new stake in Itaú Unibanco during the 3rd quarter valued at $81,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Itaú Unibanco Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Itaú Unibanco stock opened at $5.68 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.89. The company has a market cap of $55.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.28, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 12-month low of $4.86 and a 12-month high of $7.04.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last released its 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 19.46% and a net margin of 12.25%. Research analysts anticipate that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.058 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.56%.

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.