Ambev S.A. $ABEV Stock Holdings Lowered by Private Management Group Inc.

Private Management Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,112,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 184,774 shares during the quarter. Ambev accounts for 1.1% of Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Private Management Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Ambev worth $37,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABEV. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ambev by 248.1% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,135,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,445,000 after purchasing an additional 9,361,815 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Ambev by 74.8% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,409,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,624,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740,155 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Ambev by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 27,505,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,479,310 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ambev in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,124,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ambev in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,550,000. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paulo Andre Zagman sold 136,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.41, for a total transaction of $464,612.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 230,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,124.35. The trade was a 37.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider De Lacerda Eduardo Cavalcanti sold 152,386 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $434,300.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 223,340 shares in the company, valued at $636,519. The trade was a 40.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on ABEV shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ambev from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ambev from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ambev from $2.65 to $2.90 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ambev has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.09.

Ambev Stock Performance

Ambev stock opened at $3.23 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.88. The company has a market cap of $50.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Ambev S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $2.10 and a fifty-two week high of $3.45.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Ambev had a net margin of 17.69% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The business had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ambev S.A. will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 24th will be given a dividend of $0.0092 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 24th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ambev’s payout ratio is presently 57.89%.

Ambev Profile

Ambev (NYSE: ABEV) is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company’s core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.

The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.