Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Shares Sold by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 402,375 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,748 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ambev were worth $744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in Ambev by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 14,512,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,882 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Ambev by 76.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 22,880 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP raised its stake in Ambev by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 13,063,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,168,000 after buying an additional 552,220 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ambev by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 65,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 7,211 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ambev by 51.9% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 196,676,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,851,000 after acquiring an additional 67,180,274 shares during the period. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ambev Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of ABEV stock opened at $2.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.12. Ambev S.A. has a 1 year low of $1.76 and a 1 year high of $2.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.42 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.0221 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio is 52.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America downgraded Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com began coverage on Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group downgraded Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays decreased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.45.

Ambev Profile

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.