Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. $ITUB

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 22.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,146,771 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,495,555 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Itau Unibanco worth $55,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Itau Unibanco by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 179,022 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 11,376 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 21.6% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,890 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 2,468 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Itau Unibanco during the first quarter worth about $495,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Itau Unibanco by 31.8% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,660,338 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,632,000 after purchasing an additional 641,518 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 270,433 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,487,000 after purchasing an additional 28,280 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ITUB. Zacks Research downgraded Itau Unibanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Itau Unibanco from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Itau Unibanco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.09.

Itau Unibanco Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE ITUB opened at $7.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $7.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.90. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 12-month low of $4.42 and a 12-month high of $7.86. The company has a market capitalization of $82.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.85.

About Itau 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.