Madison Investment Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 373,870 Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 373,870 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,854,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 27,876 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,556 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 3,089 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 44,738 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 3,405 shares during the period.

Itaú Unibanco Trading Down 0.1 %

ITUB stock opened at $5.66 on Friday. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 1-year low of $4.42 and a 1-year high of $6.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $60.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.25, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.33.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last posted its quarterly 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.0527 dividend. This is an increase from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ITUB shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. HSBC upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.18 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.