Blair William & Co. IL Purchases New Holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL made a new investment of approximately $317,000 in Ambev S.A., acquiring 136,176 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds currently own 8.13% of Ambev's stock, with notable increases from firms like Bank of America and Two Sigma Advisers in the fourth quarter.
• Ambev has increased its dividend from $0.02 to $0.023, reflecting a yield of 660.0%, with the next payout scheduled for October 14th.

Blair William & Co. IL acquired a new position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 136,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $317,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Ambev during the 1st quarter worth approximately $925,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Ambev by 101.1% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 15,639,612 shares of the company's stock worth $29,512,000 after buying an additional 7,862,672 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ambev by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 339,069 shares of the company's stock worth $790,000 after buying an additional 42,722 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ambev by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 99,571 shares of the company's stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 31,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ambev by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 4,058,686 shares of the company's stock worth $9,457,000 after buying an additional 475,419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.13% of the company's stock.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of ABEV traded down $0.03 on Wednesday, hitting $2.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 22,199,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,777,524. The company has a market capitalization of $34.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Ambev S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $1.76 and a fifty-two week high of $2.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.29.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. Ambev had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 16.18%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.023 dividend. This is an increase from Ambev's previous -- dividend of $0.02. This represents a dividend yield of 660.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Ambev's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABEV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Ambev to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on Ambev from $2.60 to $2.70 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays increased their target price on Ambev from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. HSBC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on Ambev in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ambev has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.