Blair William & Co. IL Makes New $317,000 Investment in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Blair William & Co. IL purchased a new position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 136,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $317,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABEV. Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Ambev in the fourth quarter worth about $38,602,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Ambev by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 26,087,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,262,000 after acquiring an additional 17,440,564 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Ambev by 329.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 16,354,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,255,000 after acquiring an additional 12,546,800 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Ambev by 202.5% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 13,181,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,386,000 after acquiring an additional 8,823,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in Ambev by 101.1% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 15,639,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,512,000 after acquiring an additional 7,862,672 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABEV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Ambev to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen started coverage on Ambev in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Ambev from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Ambev from $2.60 to $2.70 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ambev presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.60.

Ambev Trading Down 0.7%

Ambev stock opened at $2.25 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Ambev S.A. has a 52 week low of $1.76 and a 52 week high of $2.63. The company has a market capitalization of $35.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.29.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03. Ambev had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 16.18%. The company had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.023 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This is a boost from Ambev’s previous — dividend of $0.02. This represents a yield of 660.0%. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.75%.

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.