Sapient Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 26,856 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $186,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 227.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,567 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Itaú Unibanco during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank acquired a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Natixis acquired a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000.

Itaú Unibanco Price Performance

Shares of ITUB opened at $6.13 on Tuesday. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a twelve month low of $4.85 and a twelve month high of $7.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $6.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.42.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19. Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.05 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $0.003 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ITUB shares. Bank of America raised Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. HSBC lowered Itaú Unibanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th.

Itaú Unibanco Company 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.