Matthews International Capital Management LLC Sells 106,847 Shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Matthews International Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 45.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 128,201 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 106,847 shares during the period. Matthews International Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 16.9% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,556 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 68.5% in 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. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 57,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 14,941 shares of the bank’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 3,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 11.6% in the third quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 41,990 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 4,379 shares in the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of Itaú Unibanco stock opened at $5.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.95. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 52-week low of $4.86 and a 52-week high of $7.27. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.99.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.0029 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This is an increase from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ITUB. Hsbc Global Res upgraded 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 target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Itaú Unibanco from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Itaú Unibanco presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.90.

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.