TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 812.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 148,739 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 132,439 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in Ambev were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Ambev by 51.4% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,084 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 5,798 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Ambev by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 84,868 shares of the company's stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its holdings in Ambev by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 20,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 5,993 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in shares of Ambev by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 173,066 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 6,078 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Ambev by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 85,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 6,164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ABEV. UBS Group cut shares of Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America lowered shares of Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2.45.

Ambev Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE ABEV traded up $0.02 on Friday, reaching $2.51. The company had a trading volume of 14,591,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,491,820. Ambev S.A. has a 52-week low of $1.76 and a 52-week high of $2.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68. The company's fifty day moving average is $2.29 and its 200 day moving average is $2.12.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.42 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.0221 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Ambev's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.94%.

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.