Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,532,866 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,145,140 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.24% of Ambev worth $87,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in Ambev by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 213,591 shares of the company's stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 40,525 shares during the period. Riversedge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ambev in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Xponance Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ambev in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Genus Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ambev by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Genus Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 132,000 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ambev in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ambev Stock Down 1.4%

ABEV stock traded down $0.04 on Thursday, hitting $2.39. 22,281,805 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,116,495. Ambev S.A. has a 12-month low of $1.76 and a 12-month high of $2.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $2.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.23. 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 stock has a market cap of $37.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.74.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.04. Ambev had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 15.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.40 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.0219 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a yield of 5%. Ambev's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ABEV. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Ambev in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Barclays lifted 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 lifted their price target on Ambev from $2.60 to $2.70 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.60.

Ambev Company 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.