Legal & General Group Plc Trims Holdings in The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in shares of The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,056 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,073 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.12% of Boston Beer worth $4,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boston Beer by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 160,419 shares of the company's stock worth $48,122,000 after purchasing an additional 34,176 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Boston Beer during the 4th quarter worth $30,741,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Boston Beer by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,356 shares of the company's stock worth $28,305,000 after acquiring an additional 4,675 shares during the period. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Boston Beer in the fourth quarter valued at about $23,349,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Boston Beer during the fourth quarter worth about $6,528,000. 81.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Boston Beer Price Performance

NYSE:SAM traded up $7.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $249.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 382,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 172,797. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.26. The Boston Beer Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.10 and a twelve month high of $339.77. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $236.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $268.87.

Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $1.38. Boston Beer had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 3.82%. The business had revenue of $481.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.27 million. Sell-side analysts expect that The Boston Beer Company, Inc. will post 9.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $279.00 target price on shares of Boston Beer in a research report on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Boston Beer in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $281.10 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on Boston Beer from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $349.00 price target (down from $389.00) on shares of Boston Beer in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Boston Beer in a research note on Friday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $290.01.

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.