Ambev S.A. $ABEV Position Boosted by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,080,838 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 176,683 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc.’s holdings in Ambev were worth $4,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Ambev by 10.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,455,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,720,000 after acquiring an additional 222,768 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in Ambev by 1,059.5% in the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 598,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 547,323 shares during the last quarter. Ted Buchan & Co bought a new position in Ambev in the first quarter worth about $85,000. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its holdings in Ambev by 32.0% in the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 27,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 6,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ambev by 105.8% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,170,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,677,000 after acquiring an additional 8,312,561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Ambev Price Performance

NYSE ABEV opened at $2.20 on Friday. Ambev S.A. has a 12 month low of $1.76 and a 12 month high of $2.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.33.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03. Ambev had a net margin of 16.18% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $0.023 dividend. This represents a yield of 660.0%. This is a positive change from Ambev’s previous — dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABEV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Ambev to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $2.20 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ambev from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $2.35.

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.