Ninety One UK Ltd Sells 834,452 Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Ninety One UK Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and 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’s holdings in Ambev were worth $114,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABEV. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Ambev by 37.0% in 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 period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $12,235,000 after purchasing an additional 264,696 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Ambev by 38.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 503,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,628,000 after purchasing an additional 140,617 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Ambev by 35.3% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 35,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 9,168 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ambev by 3.9% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 131,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABEV traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $2.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,863,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,914,431. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.08. Ambev S.A. has a 52 week low of $2.23 and a 52 week high of $3.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter. Ambev had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 17.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ABEV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Friday, March 1st. Barclays cut Ambev from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $3.50 to $3.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Ambev in a research note on Friday, January 26th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3.20.

About Ambev

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.