Rhumbline Advisers Grows Position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 401,922 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,915 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Ambev were worth $936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ambev by 51.4% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 5,798 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Ambev by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 84,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its position in shares of Ambev by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 20,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 5,993 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Ambev by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 85,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 6,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc increased its position in shares of Ambev by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 41,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 6,374 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Ambev Trading Down 0.6%

Ambev stock opened at $2.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market cap of $37.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.19. Ambev S.A. has a 52 week low of $1.76 and a 52 week high of $2.64.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04. Ambev had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.40 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.0219 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on ABEV shares. Morgan Stanley cut Ambev from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ambev from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen started coverage on Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ambev from $2.60 to $2.70 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.60.

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.