Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Stock Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3.07 and traded as high as $3.27. Ambev shares last traded at $3.2350, with a volume of 31,917,126 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ABEV shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ambev from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ambev from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ambev from $2.65 to $2.90 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.09.

Ambev Trading Up 0.8%

The company has a market cap of $50.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.84.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Ambev had a net margin of 17.69% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $4.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Ambev S.A. will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.0092 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 24th. Ambev’s payout ratio is currently 10.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ambev

In related news, insider De Lacerda Eduardo Cavalcanti sold 152,386 shares of Ambev stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $434,300.10. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 223,340 shares in the company, valued at $636,519. The trade was a 40.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ambev

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABEV. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 291.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 45,462,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,293,000 after purchasing an additional 33,842,540 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 172,969,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,235,000 after purchasing an additional 14,468,963 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 248.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,135,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,445,000 after purchasing an additional 9,361,815 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 74.8% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,409,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,624,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DJE Kapital AG bought a new stake in shares of Ambev during the first quarter valued at about $14,778,000. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ambev

Ambev (NYSE: ABEV) is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company’s core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.

The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.