Brandes Investment Partners LP Grows Stake in Ambev S.A. $ABEV

Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,600,124 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 874,657 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned approximately 0.14% of Ambev worth $55,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ambev by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 3,936 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased 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 worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 4,557 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased 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 worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. increased 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 worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 4,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Ambev by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 111,999 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 5,091 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ambev

In other news, insider De Lacerda Eduardo Cavalcanti sold 152,386 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total value of $434,300.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 223,340 shares in the company, valued at $636,519. The trade was a 40.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Ambev from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Ambev from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ambev from $2.65 to $2.90 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Ambev from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ambev currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $3.09.

Ambev Stock Performance

NYSE:ABEV opened at $3.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.87. Ambev S.A. has a 52-week low of $2.10 and a 52-week high of $3.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.64.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 17.69%.The business had revenue of $4.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. Analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 24th will be given a $0.0092 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 24th. Ambev's payout ratio is presently 57.89%.

Ambev Profile

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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