Bank of America Corp DE Acquires 17,440,564 Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 201.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,087,675 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,440,564 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.17% of Ambev worth $48,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Ambev by 101.1% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 15,639,612 shares of the company's stock worth $29,512,000 after purchasing an additional 7,862,672 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ambev by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 14,512,234 shares of the company's stock worth $26,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,882 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Ambev by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,625 shares of the company's stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 22,880 shares during the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in Ambev by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 13,063,556 shares of the company's stock worth $24,168,000 after purchasing an additional 552,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in Ambev by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 65,189 shares of the company's stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 7,211 shares during the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ambev Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE ABEV traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,751,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,406,180. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $2.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.14. Ambev S.A. has a twelve month low of $1.76 and a twelve month high of $2.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.80.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.04. Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. The business had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.40 billion. Analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.0219 per share. This represents a yield of 5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Ambev's dividend payout ratio is 68.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABEV. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group lowered shares of Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.70.

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.