JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 2,385.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,005,614 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,924,912 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s holdings in Ambev were worth $3,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Ambev by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,425,374 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,438,000 after acquiring an additional 878,900 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Ambev by 18.3% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 54,013 shares of the company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 8,350 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in Ambev by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 14,512,234 shares of the company's stock worth $26,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,882 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Ambev by 76.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,625 shares of the company's stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 22,880 shares during the period. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 13,063,556 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,168,000 after buying an additional 552,220 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.13% of the company's stock.

Ambev Stock Down 0.2 %

Ambev stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $2.46. 22,079,536 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,017,819. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Ambev S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $1.76 and a fifty-two week high of $2.56. The company's fifty day moving average price is $2.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.12. The company has a market cap of $38.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.42 billion. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 17.02%. On average, research analysts predict that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.0221 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Ambev's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group cut Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America lowered shares of Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.45.

About Ambev

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.