Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Grows Position in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) by 82.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 600,759 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 271,550 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $2,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 4,000.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 11,961 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Itaú Unibanco in the third quarter worth $68,000. Fielder Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the bank’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter valued at $94,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. HSBC upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.18 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Itaú Unibanco presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $6.27.

Itaú Unibanco Price Performance

ITUB opened at $5.54 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 52-week low of $4.42 and a 52-week high of $6.30.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.0527 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is 2.82%.

Itaú Unibanco Company 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.