Focus Partners Wealth Boosts Holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV $BUD

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 19.9% during the first quarter, holding 26,428 shares worth approximately $1.63 million.
• Multiple hedge funds, including NBC Securities and Garde Capital, have also recently increased their positions in Anheuser-Busch InBev, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• BNP Paribas upgraded Anheuser-Busch InBev to a "strong-buy" rating, contributing to an average target price of $71.00 among analysts.

Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD - Free Report) by 19.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,428 shares of the consumer goods maker's stock after acquiring an additional 4,387 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV were worth $1,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV during the first quarter worth $1,731,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 224.7% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,254 shares of the consumer goods maker's stock valued at $1,555,000 after buying an additional 17,476 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 31.7% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 14,635 shares of the consumer goods maker's stock valued at $901,000 after acquiring an additional 3,526 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in the 1st quarter valued at about $310,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,341,000. 5.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BUD. BNP Paribas raised Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in a report on Monday, September 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $71.00.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Stock Performance

Shares of BUD stock traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $59.34. The stock had a trading volume of 2,619,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,131,178. The stock's 50 day moving average is $62.56 and its 200 day moving average is $64.95. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has a twelve month low of $45.94 and a twelve month high of $72.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The consumer goods maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The business's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV produces, distributes, exports, markets, and sells beer and beverages. It offers a portfolio of approximately 500 beer brands, which primarily include Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois; Beck's, Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Michelob Ultra; and Aguila, Antarctica, Bud Light, Brahma, Cass, Castle, Castle Lite, Cristal, Harbin, Jupiler, Modelo Especial, Quilmes, Victoria, Sedrin, and Skol brands.