Private Management Group Inc. Has $35.97 Million Stock Holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Key Points

• Private Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ambev S.A. by 6.4%, owning over 15 million shares, which accounts for about 1.3% of its investment portfolio.
• Ambev reported quarterly earnings of $0.04 per share, meeting analysts' expectations, with a net margin of 15.76% and a projected EPS of 0.18 for the current fiscal year.
• The company has a dividend payout ratio of 68.75% and recently paid a dividend of $0.0219 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 5%.

Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,439,216 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 926,982 shares during the period. Ambev accounts for about 1.3% of Private Management Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Private Management Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Ambev worth $35,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 74.8% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 68,848 shares of the company's stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 29,451 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Ambev by 13.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 115,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 13,997 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Ambev by 2,502.6% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 739,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,722,000 after purchasing an additional 710,842 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Ambev in the first quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Ambev by 29.4% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 109,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 24,950 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on ABEV shares. Barclays upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.60 to $2.70 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating for the company. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ambev currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $2.60.

Ambev Stock Up 1.1%

Ambev stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $2.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,422,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,451,965. The company has a market capitalization of $36.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.74. Ambev S.A. has a 12 month low of $1.76 and a 12 month high of $2.63. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $2.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.11.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.40 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 14.74%. As a group, research 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 was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.0219 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Ambev's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

Ambev 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.