Ninety One UK Ltd Lowers Stock Position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Ninety One UK Ltd trimmed its position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,758,675 shares of the company's stock after selling 834,452 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned approximately 0.26% of Ambev worth $114,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABEV. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Ambev by 37.0% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,039,250 shares of the company's stock worth $3,357,000 after buying an additional 280,753 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Ambev by 7.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,788,023 shares of the company's stock worth $12,235,000 after buying an additional 264,696 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Ambev by 38.7% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 503,973 shares of the company's stock worth $1,628,000 after buying an additional 140,617 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Ambev by 35.3% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 35,172 shares of the company's stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 9,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ambev by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 131,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ABEV shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Ambev in a report on Friday, January 26th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Barclays cut Ambev from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $3.50 to $3.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $3.20.

Ambev Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE ABEV traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $2.29. The stock had a trading volume of 18,908,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,073,884. The company has a market capitalization of $36.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50-day moving average price is $2.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.89. Ambev S.A. has a 12 month low of $2.23 and a 12 month high of $3.23.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter. Ambev had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 18.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.19 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev SA, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of beer, draft beer, carbonated soft drinks, other non-alcoholic beverages, malt, and food products. It offers beer primarily under the Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Brahva, Budweiser, Bud Light, Beck, Leffe and Hoegaarden, 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, Banks, Deputy, Patricia, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith's, and Kokanee brands.