Cerity Partners LLC Has $584,000 Position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 55.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 315,451 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 112,616 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Ambev were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ambev by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 62,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 10,474 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Ambev in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Ambev by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 57,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 11,037 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ambev by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 641,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 42,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Ambev by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 264,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 14,042 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABEV opened at $2.41 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $37.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68. Ambev S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $1.76 and a fifty-two week high of $2.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $2.19 and its 200 day moving average is $2.11.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.42 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.0221 dividend. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev’s payout ratio is 52.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on Ambev in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Ambev from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ambev currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.45.

About Ambev

Ambev SA, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of beer, draft beer, carbonated soft drinks, malt and food, other alcoholic beverages, and non-alcoholic and non-carbonated products in Brazil, Central America and Caribbean, Latin America South, and Canada. It offers beer primarily under the Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Brahva, Budweiser, Bud Light, Beck, Leffe, Hoegaarden, Balboa ICE, Balboa, Atlas Golden Light, Atlas, Bucanero, Cristal, Mayabe, Presidente, Presidente Light, Brahma Light, Bohemia, The One, Corona, Modelo Especial, Stella Artois, Quilmes Clásica, Paceña, Taquiña, Huari, Becker, Cusqueña, Michelob Ultra, Busch, Pilsen, Ouro Fino, Bud 66, Banks, Deputy, Patricia, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith’s, and Kokanee brands.