Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Shares Sold by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. trimmed its position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 97.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,627 shares of the company's stock after selling 755,732 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Ambev were worth $43,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ambev by 51.4% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,084 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 5,798 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its position in Ambev by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 20,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 5,993 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Ambev by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 85,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 6,164 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in Ambev by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 41,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 6,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ambev by 22.1% during the first quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,457 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 6,949 shares during the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Ambev Stock Performance

ABEV traded up $0.03 on Tuesday, hitting $2.42. 32,683,213 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 30,540,772. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2.47 and a 200-day moving average of $2.21. Ambev S.A. has a 12-month low of $1.76 and a 12-month high of $2.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.04 EPS 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 business had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.40 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

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

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.