Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Sells 2,706,320 Shares of Ambev S.A. $ABEV

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. cut its Ambev stake by 95.7%, selling 2,706,320 shares and retaining 120,597 shares worth approximately $379,000. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company.
• Ambev reported quarterly earnings of $0.04 per share, in line with estimates, while revenue of $3.89 billion fell short of the $4.05 billion consensus forecast. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.0092 per share, representing a 1.2% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with five Hold ratings and one Sell rating; Ambev has a consensus rating of Reduce and an average price target of $3.08, versus a recent share price of $3.03.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lowered its stake in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 95.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 120,597 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,706,320 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Ambev were worth $379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Ambev in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ambev by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,399,472 shares of the company's stock worth $5,591,000 after buying an additional 922,566 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,000,107 shares of the company's stock worth $11,650,000 after acquiring an additional 582,153 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in shares of Ambev during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ambev during the first quarter valued at approximately $264,000. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ambev Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:ABEV opened at $3.03 on Monday. Ambev S.A. has a 12 month low of $2.10 and a 12 month high of $3.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market capitalization of $47.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.64.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04. Ambev had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 17.48%. The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Ambev's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ABEV. Scotiabank downgraded Ambev from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group set a $2.85 target price on 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 research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $3.08.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total transaction of $1,441,563.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,000,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,240,000. The trade was a 13.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev NYSE: ABEV is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company's core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.

The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.

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