First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stake in The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM - Free Report) by 17.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,620 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,681 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.28% of Boston Beer worth $9,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC increased its position in Boston Beer by 44.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 12,988 shares of the company's stock worth $3,753,000 after purchasing an additional 3,983 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Boston Beer during the 3rd quarter valued at about $299,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Boston Beer by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,389 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,239,000 after buying an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Boston Beer by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 348 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Boston Beer by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 129 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $279.00 price objective on shares of Boston Beer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Boston Beer in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $281.10 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Boston Beer in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and issued a $349.00 target price (down previously from $389.00) on shares of Boston Beer in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boston Beer from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $286.12.

Boston Beer Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Boston Beer stock traded down $5.27 on Friday, hitting $239.59. 123,008 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 171,149. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 35.23, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.26. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $238.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.45. The Boston Beer Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.10 and a 52 week high of $339.77.

Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $1.38. Boston Beer had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 3.82%. The firm had revenue of $481.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Boston Beer Company, Inc. will post 9.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boston Beer Profile

The Boston Beer Company, Inc produces and sells alcohol beverages primarily in the United States. The company's flagship beer is Samuel Adams Boston Lager. It offers various beers, hard ciders, flavored malt beverages, and hard seltzers under the Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Truly, Angry Orchard, Dogfish Head, Angel City, and Coney Island brand names.