Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Buys 1,118,685 Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 83.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,454,174 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,118,685 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.'s holdings in Ambev were worth $4,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ambev by 1,313.2% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 268,500 shares of the company's stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 249,500 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ambev by 223.3% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,163,956 shares of the company's stock worth $5,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,372 shares during the period. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ambev in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ambev by 210.1% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,143,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,115,000 after buying an additional 774,556 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in Ambev during the fourth quarter worth approximately $128,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.13% of the company's stock.

Ambev Stock Up 0.6 %

Ambev stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $2.48. 12,730,363 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,860,272. The company has a market capitalization of $39.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.80. The business's 50 day moving average is $2.31 and its 200 day moving average is $2.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Ambev S.A. has a 52 week low of $1.76 and a 52 week high of $2.59.

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

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.0221 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Ambev's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABEV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley cut Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $2.45.

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.