Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Shares Sold by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd lowered its position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,981,068 shares of the company's stock after selling 153,872 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Ambev were worth $6,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Ambev by 468.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,998 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 9,063 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ambev during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Naviter Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ambev in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Generation Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ambev in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ambev by 51.4% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,084 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 5,798 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.13% of the company's stock.

Ambev Price Performance

NYSE:ABEV traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $2.37. 38,587,261 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 30,303,287. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm's 50-day moving average is $2.47 and its 200-day moving average is $2.19. The stock has a market cap of $37.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.76. Ambev S.A. has a 1-year low of $1.76 and a 1-year high of $2.64.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.40 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders 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 currently 68.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.