Moran Wealth Management LLC Acquires 157,817 Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,863,326 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 157,817 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Ambev were worth $4,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Ambev by 185.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 34,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 22,531 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Ambev by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,085,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 298,000 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Ambev by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 84,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares in the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. bought a new position in shares of Ambev in the fourth quarter worth $11,987,000. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ambev by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 70,000 shares of the company's stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 13,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ABEV. UBS Group upped their target price on Ambev from $2.60 to $2.70 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Ambev from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2.60.

Ambev Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE ABEV traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $2.38. 31,128,649 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 34,141,320. Ambev S.A. has a 12-month low of $1.76 and a 12-month high of $2.63. The firm has a market cap of $37.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.11.

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

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid 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 68.75%.

About Ambev

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.