Dodge & Cox Increases Stock Position in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV $BUD

Key Points

• Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 2.8%, now owning over 41 million shares valued at approximately $2.53 billion, making it the investor's 27th largest holding.
• The company's stock has a market capitalization of $114.76 billion and reported a PE ratio of 17.94, indicating strong market interest.
• Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV achieved an EPS of $0.98 in its last quarterly earnings, exceeding analyst estimates, despite a 2.1% year-over-year revenue decrease.

Dodge & Cox grew its stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,116,138 shares of the consumer goods maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,119,308 shares during the period. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV makes up about 1.4% of Dodge & Cox's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Dodge & Cox owned approximately 2.29% of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV worth $2,531,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 5.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $70.10 to $88.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $71.50.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BUD traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $62.66. 1,140,970 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,391,968. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has a 1 year low of $45.94 and a 1 year high of $72.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.39. The stock has a market cap of $112.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.79.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The consumer goods maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV had a return on equity of 16.21% and a net margin of 12.16%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Profile

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV produces, distributes, exports, markets, and sells beer and beverages. It offers a portfolio of approximately 500 beer brands, which primarily include Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois; Beck's, Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Michelob Ultra; and Aguila, Antarctica, Bud Light, Brahma, Cass, Castle, Castle Lite, Cristal, Harbin, Jupiler, Modelo Especial, Quilmes, Victoria, Sedrin, and Skol brands.