Blair William & Co. IL Purchases Shares of 136,176 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 bought a new position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 136,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $317,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ambev by 51.4% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,084 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 5,798 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Ambev by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,457 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 6,949 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Ambev by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 37,368 shares of the company's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 8,137 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Ambev by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 810,379 shares of the company's stock worth $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 8,363 shares during the period. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ambev by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,000 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Ambev to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ambev from $2.60 to $2.70 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ambev from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. HSBC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $2.60.

Ambev Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Ambev stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $2.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,504,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,432,612. Ambev S.A. has a 52-week low of $1.76 and a 52-week high of $2.63. The company has a market cap of $34.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. The firm's 50-day moving average is $2.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

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

Ambev Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $0.023 dividend. This is a positive change from Ambev's previous -- dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 660.0%. Ambev's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.25%.

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.