Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 12.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,465,497 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 502,568 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $24,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 67.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,375 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,755 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 571.3% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 6,888 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 5,862 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 20,555.6% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 7,436 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,098 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 2,838 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Itaú Unibanco from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Performance

Itaú Unibanco stock opened at $6.07 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $6.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $5.12 and a fifty-two week high of $7.27. The company has a market capitalization of $59.49 billion, a PE ratio of 8.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.97.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The bank reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $8.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.34 billion. Itaú Unibanco had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 18.73%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.0478 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. This is an increase from Itaú Unibanco’s previous Variable dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.05%.

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.