American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stock Position in National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:FIZZ)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:FIZZ) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,950 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,302 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in National Beverage were worth $1,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FIZZ. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of National Beverage by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in National Beverage by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in National Beverage by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 37,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in National Beverage by 89.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in National Beverage by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 12,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. 23.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, UBS Group dropped their price target on National Beverage from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

National Beverage Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FIZZ opened at $42.96 on Thursday. National Beverage Corp. has a 12-month low of $38.25 and a 12-month high of $53.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.59 and a beta of 0.94.

National Beverage (NASDAQ:FIZZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.03). National Beverage had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 42.80%. The company had revenue of $267.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $282.22 million.

National Beverage Profile

National Beverage Corp., through its subsidiaries, develops, produces, markets, and sells a portfolio of sparkling waters, juices, energy drinks, and carbonated soft drinks primarily in the United States and Canada. The company's Power+ brand portfolio offers sparkling water products under the LaCroix, LaCroix Cúrate, and LaCroix NiCola; non-carbonated flavored water under the Clear Fruit; energy drink and shots under the Rip It; juice and juice-based products under Everfresh, Everfresh Premier Varietals, and Mr.