Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Shares Sold by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 85.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 471,804 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,843,353 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Ambev were worth $873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,798 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ambev by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 84,868 shares of the company's stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its position in shares of Ambev by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 20,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 5,993 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in Ambev by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 173,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 6,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Ambev by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 85,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 6,164 shares during the period. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ambev Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of ABEV stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $2.49. The company had a trading volume of 23,181,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,348,109. The company has a market capitalization of $39.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.80. Ambev S.A. has a twelve month low of $1.76 and a twelve month high of $2.64. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $2.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.40 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.0219 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a yield of 5%. Ambev's payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Ambev from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group lowered Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen started coverage on Ambev in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ambev has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.70.

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.