36,835 Shares in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Purchased by Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.

Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 36,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 85,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 6,164 shares in the last quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Ambev in the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. Motco boosted its stake in Ambev by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Motco now owns 255,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $474,000 after buying an additional 28,900 shares in the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Ambev by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 3,583,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,629,000 after purchasing an additional 46,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ambev by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 70,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 13,800 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABEV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America downgraded Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Ambev in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.45.

Ambev Stock Performance

Shares of ABEV opened at $2.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1.86 and a 200 day moving average of $2.13. Ambev S.A. has a 12 month low of $1.76 and a 12 month high of $2.58. The company has a market capitalization of $32.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01). Ambev had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 17.02%. The business had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.42 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.0221 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.29%.

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.