Ambev S.A. $ABEV Stake Lifted by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,488,702 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 174,599 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Ambev were worth $6,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Ambev by 291.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 45,462,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,293,000 after acquiring an additional 33,842,540 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ambev by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 172,969,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,235,000 after acquiring an additional 14,468,963 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Ambev by 248.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in Ambev by 74.8% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Ambev by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 27,505,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,479,310 shares during the period. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paulo Andre Zagman sold 136,250 shares of Ambev stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.41, for a total transaction of $464,612.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 230,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,124.35. This trade represents a 37.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Ambev Stock Up 2.7%

Ambev stock opened at $3.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $50.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.92. Ambev S.A. has a 52 week low of $2.10 and a 52 week high of $3.45.

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

Ambev Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 24th. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upped their target price 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group raised their target price on Ambev from $2.65 to $2.90 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Ambev from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ambev has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $3.09.

Ambev Profile

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.