HighTower Advisors LLC Has $129,000 Holdings in Ambev S.A. $ABEV

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors sharply reduced its Ambev stake by 91.7% in the second quarter, selling 455,042 shares and retaining 41,049 shares valued at approximately $129,000.
• Ambev director Manuel Moreira sold 468,040 shares for about $1.44 million, reducing his ownership by 13.5%.
• Ambev reported quarterly EPS in line with estimates at $0.04, while revenue of $3.89 billion fell short of expectations. Analysts’ average rating is “Reduce,” with an average price target of $3.08; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.0092 per share.

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 91.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,049 shares of the company's stock after selling 455,042 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Ambev were worth $129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its position in Ambev by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 173,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 3,702 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ambev by 7.1% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 62,574 shares of the company's stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 4,121 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ambev by 26.7% during the second quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,467 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 4,941 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Ambev by 3.7% during the second quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 150,285 shares of the company's stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 5,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in Ambev by 37.5% in the second quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 20,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 5,614 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ambev

In related news, Director Manuel Moreira sold 468,040 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total value of $1,441,563.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,000,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,240,000. The trade was a 13.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Ambev Stock Down 1.2%

Ambev stock opened at $2.94 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $2.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market cap of $46.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.64. Ambev S.A. has a twelve month low of $2.10 and a twelve month high of $3.45.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04. Ambev had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 18.47%.The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.05 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Ambev S.A. will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be given a $0.0092 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Ambev's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank lowered Ambev from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group set a $2.85 price target on shares of Ambev in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $3.08.

Ambev Profile

Ambev SA is a Brazilian beverage company and one of the largest brewers in Latin America. The company produces, distributes and sells beer, carbonated soft drinks and other nonalcoholic beverages through a portfolio of local, regional and international brands.

Its beer portfolio includes brands such as Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Bohemia, Original, Stella Artois and Budweiser, while its nonalcoholic beverage offerings include products marketed under brands such as Guaraná Antarctica and Pepsi.

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