B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Buys 1,388,881 Shares of Ambev S.A. $ABEV

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its Ambev stake by 187.7%, buying 1,388,881 shares to hold 2,128,785 shares valued at $5.263 million after the 4Q 13F filing.
• Insider sale: De Lacerda Eduardo Cavalcanti sold 152,386 shares at an average price of $2.85 for about $434,300, cutting his position by 40.56% to 223,340 shares.
• Stock and analyst snapshot: ABEV trades near $2.94 (market cap $46.26B), was down ~2.5%, and carries a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $2.84 amid mixed analyst views.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 187.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,128,785 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,388,881 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Ambev were worth $5,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,936 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 140,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 4,557 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 240,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 51,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 4,891 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Ambev by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 111,999 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 5,091 shares during the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ambev

In other Ambev news, insider De Lacerda Eduardo Cavalcanti sold 152,386 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $434,300.10. Following the transaction, the insider owned 223,340 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $636,519. This represents a 40.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ambev Stock Down 2.5%

NYSE ABEV opened at $2.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.65. Ambev S.A. has a one year low of $2.10 and a one year high of $3.24. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $3.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 17.75%.The business had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ABEV shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group set a $2.65 price target on Ambev and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays increased their price target on Ambev from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ambev from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ambev currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $2.84.

About Ambev

Ambev NYSE: ABEV is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company's core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.

The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.

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