Invesco Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,915,696 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 135,869 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd.'s holdings in Ambev were worth $3,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in Ambev by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 22,880 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in Ambev by 268.7% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 52,344 shares of the company's stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 38,146 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Ambev by 5.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 599,291 shares of the company's stock worth $1,402,000 after buying an additional 31,408 shares in the last quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ambev by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 24,634 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 9,120 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC boosted its position in Ambev by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 97,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 16,435 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABEV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group cut shares of Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $2.45.

Ambev Stock Performance

ABEV stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $2.51. The stock had a trading volume of 11,312,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,697,010. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.12. Ambev S.A. has a 52-week low of $1.76 and a 52-week high of $2.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $39.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.42 billion. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 17.02%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.0221 dividend. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.94%.

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.