Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Key Points

• Cerity Partners LLC has reduced its stake in Ambev S.A. by 54.2%, now holding 144,380 shares valued at $336,000 after selling 171,071 shares in the first quarter.
• Ambev reported a net margin of 15.76% and revenue of $3.92 billion for the last quarter, matching consensus earnings per share estimates of $0.04.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Ambev, with Bank of America boosting its position by 201.7%, now owning over 26 million shares valued at approximately $48 million.

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 54.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,380 shares of the company's stock after selling 171,071 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Ambev were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ambev by 51.4% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,084 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 5,798 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Ambev by 22.1% during the first quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 6,949 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Ambev by 27.8% during the first quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 37,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 8,137 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Ambev by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 810,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,499,000 after buying an additional 8,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ambev by 81.0% during the first quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 8,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.13% of the company's stock.

Ambev Stock Performance

Shares of Ambev stock traded down $0.13 on Thursday, reaching $2.18. 32,900,132 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,551,504. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company's 50-day moving average is $2.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.26. The firm has a market cap of $34.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.74. Ambev S.A. has a 1-year low of $1.76 and a 1-year high of $2.63.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.01). Ambev had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 15.76%. As a group, research analysts expect that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a -- dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.0219 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Ambev's payout ratio is 68.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABEV has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ambev from $2.60 to $2.70 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley cut Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ambev from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2.60.

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.