Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Stock Position Increased by Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 83.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,454,174 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,118,685 shares during the quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.’s holdings in Ambev were worth $4,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABEV. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in Ambev by 101.1% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 15,639,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,512,000 after purchasing an additional 7,862,672 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ambev by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 14,512,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,882 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ambev by 76.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 22,880 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP grew its position in Ambev by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 13,063,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,168,000 after purchasing an additional 552,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Ambev by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 65,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 7,211 shares during the period. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lowered 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. UBS Group downgraded shares of Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Ambev from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ambev currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.45.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of ABEV stock opened at $2.53 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $2.28 and its 200-day moving average is $2.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.20. Ambev S.A. has a 52 week low of $1.76 and a 52 week high of $2.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.0221 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Ambev’s payout ratio is currently 52.94%.

Ambev Profile

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.