Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Has $2.98 Million Stock Holdings in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 82.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 600,759 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 271,550 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC's holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $2,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,829,515 shares of the bank's stock worth $338,016,000 after acquiring an additional 2,604,304 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Itaú Unibanco by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 48,018,726 shares of the bank's stock worth $238,173,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151,459 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 39,658,215 shares of the bank's stock valued at $196,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,014 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 1.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,899,587 shares of the bank's stock valued at $174,930,000 after buying an additional 346,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 12,592.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,484,343 shares of the bank's stock worth $156,171,000 after buying an additional 23,299,313 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on ITUB shares. Hsbc Global Res raised Itaú Unibanco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. HSBC raised shares of Itaú Unibanco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $6.18 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Itaú Unibanco from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $6.27.

Itaú Unibanco Price Performance

NYSE ITUB traded down $0.03 on Monday, reaching $5.31. 40,068,200 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,647,295. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 12 month low of $4.42 and a 12 month high of $6.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $5.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.27. The company has a market cap of $57.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.65.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, research analysts predict that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.0527 dividend. This is an increase from Itaú Unibanco's previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Itaú Unibanco's payout ratio is presently 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.