Baillie Gifford & Co. Purchases 430,582 Shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 4.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,556,375 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 430,582 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $63,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ITUB. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the third quarter worth about $373,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 483,231 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,214,000 after purchasing an additional 15,790 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in Itaú Unibanco by 1.5% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 303,181 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 4,485 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 7.3% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 104,566 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 7,071 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 68.5% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,071 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ITUB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Itaú Unibanco from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group downgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.50.

Itaú Unibanco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITUB opened at $6.03 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $6.41 and its 200 day moving average is $6.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.98. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 1 year low of $5.62 and a 1 year high of $7.27.

Itaú Unibanco Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.0031 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.85%.

Itaú Unibanco 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.