Moran Wealth Management LLC Increases Holdings in Ambev S.A. $ABEV

Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,258,941 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 295,217 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ambev were worth $5,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ambev by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 3,936 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in shares of Ambev by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 140,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 4,557 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ambev by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 240,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Ambev by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 51,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 4,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Ambev by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 111,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 5,091 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ambev Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABEV opened at $3.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. Ambev S.A. has a 12 month low of $2.10 and a 12 month high of $3.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $3.00 and its 200 day moving average is $2.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 16.41%. Research analysts predict that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABEV. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group set a $2.65 price target on shares of Ambev and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ambev from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider De Lacerda Eduardo Cavalcanti sold 152,386 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $434,300.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 223,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,519. This represents a 40.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

About Ambev

Ambev (NYSE: ABEV) is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company’s core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.

The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.