Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Shares Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 55.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 315,451 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 112,616 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Ambev were worth $584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABEV. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ambev by 9.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,425,374 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,438,000 after acquiring an additional 878,900 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ambev by 18.3% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 54,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 8,350 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ambev by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 14,512,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,848,000 after buying an additional 1,083,882 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Ambev by 76.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,625 shares of the company's stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 22,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings in Ambev by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 13,063,556 shares of the company's stock worth $24,168,000 after buying an additional 552,220 shares during the period. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ambev Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE ABEV traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $2.46. The company had a trading volume of 22,079,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,017,819. Ambev S.A. has a 1-year low of $1.76 and a 1-year high of $2.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $2.23 and a 200 day moving average of $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 (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.42 billion. As a group, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.0221 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ABEV. Bank of America downgraded Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com began coverage on Ambev in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley cut Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ambev currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.45.

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.