First Manhattan CO. LLC. Cuts Stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. cut its stake in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD - Free Report) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 354,623 shares of the consumer goods maker's stock after selling 57,593 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV were worth $17,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 9,856.6% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 46,796 shares of the consumer goods maker's stock valued at $2,343,000 after buying an additional 46,326 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV during the fourth quarter valued at $569,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV during the fourth quarter valued at $79,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 8,506 shares of the consumer goods maker's stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 8,961.6% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 100,674 shares of the consumer goods maker's stock valued at $5,041,000 after buying an additional 99,563 shares during the last quarter. 5.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BUD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Argus upgraded shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Price Performance

Shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV stock traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,603,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,869,358. The stock's 50 day moving average is $63.33 and its 200 day moving average is $56.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.83. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has a twelve month low of $45.94 and a twelve month high of $67.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The consumer goods maker reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.04. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The business's revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $1.0492 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV's previous annual dividend of $0.87. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV's dividend payout ratio is 22.32%.

About Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV produces, distributes, exports, markets, and sells beer and beverages. It offers a portfolio of approximately 500 beer brands, which primarily include Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois; Beck's, Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Michelob Ultra; and Aguila, Antarctica, Bud Light, Brahma, Cass, Castle, Castle Lite, Cristal, Harbin, Jupiler, Modelo Especial, Quilmes, Victoria, Sedrin, and Skol brands.