BNP Paribas Financial Markets Reduces Holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 235,251 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,759 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Ambev were worth $435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Insight Inv LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ambev during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Generation Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ambev during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Naviter Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ambev during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Ambev during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ambev by 51.4% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 5,798 shares during the period. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of ABEV opened at $2.53 on Monday. Ambev S.A. has a twelve month low of $1.76 and a twelve month high of $2.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $2.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.15. 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 firm has a market cap of $39.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.80.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.40 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. As a group, research analysts expect that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.0219 dividend. This represents a yield of 5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABEV. Barclays upped their price objective on Ambev from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Ambev from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group downgraded Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen started coverage on Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ambev has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.70.

Ambev Company 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.