Ambev S.A. $ABEV Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 115.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 326,500 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 175,000 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Ambev were worth $953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new position in Ambev during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 117,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 9,749 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 249,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 10,386 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ambev in the first quarter valued at $342,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ambev by 14.7% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 157,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 20,115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ABEV shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank lowered shares of Ambev from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ambev from $2.65 to $2.90 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ambev from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ambev from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ambev presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.09.

Insider Activity at Ambev

In related news, insider Paulo Andre Zagman sold 136,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.41, for a total value of $464,612.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 230,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,124.35. This trade represents a 37.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ambev Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:ABEV opened at $3.06 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.64. Ambev S.A. has a 1-year low of $2.10 and a 1-year high of $3.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 17.69%.The firm had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.0092 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 24th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Ambev’s payout ratio is currently 10.53%.

Ambev Profile

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.