West Family Investments Inc. Invests $128,000 in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

West Family Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,797 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $128,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in Itaú Unibanco during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,215,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 7.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,522,486 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,899,000 after acquiring an additional 861,500 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,829,515 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $338,016,000 after acquiring an additional 2,604,304 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 25,586 shares of the bank’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 4,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,899,587 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $174,930,000 after purchasing an additional 346,390 shares during the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ITUB opened at $5.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $55.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.28, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a 12 month low of $4.86 and a 12 month high of $7.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.90.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 19.46%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.058 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ITUB. Hsbc Global Res raised Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC raised Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.80 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.90.

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.