Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Shares Bought by Altrius Capital Management Inc

Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,058,686 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 475,419 shares during the period. Ambev comprises 2.3% of Altrius Capital Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Altrius Capital Management Inc's holdings in Ambev were worth $9,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABEV. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Ambev by 185.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 34,678 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 22,531 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Ambev by 37.8% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,085,500 shares of the company's stock worth $2,008,000 after acquiring an additional 298,000 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP grew its holdings in Ambev by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 13,063,556 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,168,000 after purchasing an additional 552,220 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Ambev by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 84,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Finally, CORDA Investment Management LLC. acquired a new stake in Ambev in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,987,000. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ABEV. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ambev from $2.60 to $2.70 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ambev from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen started coverage on Ambev in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ambev has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.60.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABEV traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $2.43. The stock had a trading volume of 28,112,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,943,603. The company has a market capitalization of $38.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.19. Ambev S.A. has a 1 year low of $1.76 and a 1 year high of $2.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.40 billion. Ambev had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 15.76%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

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

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.