NBC Securities Inc. Grows Position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 140,446.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 230,496 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 230,332 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in Ambev were worth $537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Ambev by 101.1% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 15,639,612 shares of the company's stock worth $29,512,000 after acquiring an additional 7,862,672 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ambev by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 14,512,234 shares of the company's stock worth $26,848,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,882 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in Ambev by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 13,063,556 shares of the company's stock worth $24,168,000 after acquiring an additional 552,220 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in Ambev by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 65,189 shares of the company's stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 7,211 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ambev by 51.9% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 196,676,003 shares of the company's stock worth $363,851,000 after acquiring an additional 67,180,274 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.13% of the company's stock.

Ambev Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:ABEV traded up $0.03 on Friday, hitting $2.49. 30,155,476 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 29,485,969. Ambev S.A. has a 52 week low of $1.76 and a 52 week high of $2.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.17. The company has a market cap of $39.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.83, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Ambev Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ambev from $2.60 to $2.70 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on Ambev in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Ambev from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.60.

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.