Invesco Ltd. Has $8.86 Million Stock Holdings in Ambev S.A. $ABEV

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has significantly increased its stake in Ambev S.A. by 98.6%, owning nearly 3.8 million shares worth approximately $8.86 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Multiple institutional investors have also boosted their positions in Ambev, with Bank of America Corp DE and Two Sigma Advisers LP increasing their holdings by over 200% in the last quarter, reflecting growing confidence in the company's performance.
• Ambev recently announced a dividend increase to $0.023 per share, up from $0.02, with the ex-dividend date on August 11th, representing a yield of 660.0%.

Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 98.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,803,683 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,887,987 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.'s holdings in Ambev were worth $8,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Ambev by 468.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,998 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 9,063 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ambev in the first quarter worth about $27,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ambev during the first quarter worth about $28,000. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Ambev during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Ambev during the first quarter worth about $33,000. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ABEV shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ambev from $2.50 to $2.20 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Ambev from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. HSBC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Ambev to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $2.35.

Ambev Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:ABEV traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $2.25. 20,731,452 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 32,548,701. Ambev S.A. has a 52 week low of $1.76 and a 52 week high of $2.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $35.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $2.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.32.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.03. Ambev had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 16.18%.The business had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.84 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $0.023 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a yield of 660.0%. This is a boost from Ambev's previous -- dividend of $0.02. Ambev's payout ratio is 31.25%.

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.