HighTower Advisors LLC Has $83,000 Stock Position in Ambev S.A. $ABEV

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 26.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,602 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,490 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ambev were worth $83,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Ambev by 201.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 26,087,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,262,000 after purchasing an additional 17,440,564 shares in the last quarter. Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Ambev during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,602,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Ambev by 329.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 16,354,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,255,000 after purchasing an additional 12,546,800 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ambev by 6.4% during the first quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 15,439,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,973,000 after purchasing an additional 926,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Ambev by 202.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 13,181,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,386,000 after purchasing an additional 8,823,911 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ambev Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE:ABEV opened at $2.23 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $2.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.33. Ambev S.A. has a 52-week low of $1.76 and a 52-week high of $2.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $35.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.84.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.03. Ambev had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 16.18%.The firm had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ABEV. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ambev from $2.50 to $2.20 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Hsbc Global Res raised Ambev to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price target on Ambev from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Friday, August 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $2.35.

About Ambev

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.